A Roster of Relationships
by MWolfL
Summary: Due to many players being fed up with Sugar Rush having more girls than boys, Litwak decides to ask for some new Racers from the company. After they arrive the older Racers get to know the new Racers and friendships form. Multiple pairings, mostly CanonXOC.
1. Upgrade

A.N. This story is going to feature a lot of new OCs of mine, so to make things easier I decided to post a guide to them on deviantART (not sure if this site would allow me to post it here).

It was June, and not long after Luann and Reneult joined Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush respectively. Mr. Litwak was doing business as usual when he overheard two boys complaining by the Sugar Rush console.

"Man, I'm tired of this game mostly having girls." One boy frowned.

"I know, just because it looks like a girls' game doesn't mean it is." His friend agreed.

They continued to protest a bit as Mr. Litwak thought it over. He had to admit that the two boys had a really good point. He also thought of another detail: the only three boys in Sugar Rush already had girlfriends (Reneult didn't count because he wasn't interested in dating). Gloyd had Jubileena, Swizzle had Minty, and Rancis had Taffyta (finally, according to Gloyd and Swizzle). That meant that all those other female Racers - not counting Vanellope because she had Ralph - didn't have anyone. He felt sorry for them, especially Sticky because her description in the manual said that she's a romantic. He decided it was time to do something about this.

So after the arcade closed that day he wrote a letter to TobiKomi about the unbalanced ratio of girl Racers to boy Racers. He included the fact that at least two boys had already complained about it.

About two weeks later Mr. Litwak got a letter and a package. The letter was from TobiKomi, and said that he had a point. After much discussion the company had decided to upgrade Sugar Rush with new male Racers. To help the consoles get used to having new characters however these Racers weren't exactly Racers yet. Instead they were just new visitors to the kingdom who had to get used to racing first before they could join in the game. This would allow the consoles to get used to these new characters without any harm happening to consoles. The package obviously was the upgrade itself.

Mr. Litwak was excited and couldn't wait to upgrade Sugar Rush. He had a feeling that Vanellope and the current Racers would be happy to get new friends.

The following Sunday Mr. Litwak entered the arcade with a woman: his daughter.

"What's Mr. Litwak doing here with Atara?" Gene asked.

"A game must need upgrading." Felix shrugged.

"Hello everyone." Mr. Litwak smiled. "Atara's here to help me upgrade a game, she finally got some free time."

"Yeah, working in an animation company can make you busier than you'd think." Atara chuckled.

Mr. Litwak went over to Sugar Rush.

"President Vanellope?" He said.

"Right here." Vanellope appeared on the screen. "Just in time, Reneult and I were just about to leave to visit Ralph."

"Hello Mr. Litwak." Reneult smiled as he entered the screen.

"Hi Reneult." Mr. Litwak smiled. "Vanellope your game is the one we're upgrading so if you want to see what's going on then you'd best hurry over to your husband's game."

"Right, come on everyone." Vanellope left the screen.

She, Reneult, Candiel, Sour Bill, and the other Racers headed for Fix-It-Felix Jr so that they could watch. Tamora and Luann showed up as well.

"Say, I don't think Reneult and I ever met Atara before." Luann realized.

"You haven't, last time she was here it was just a short visit to pick up Mr. Litwak for her son's birthday party." Felix said.

"Yeah as I recall you two were playing hide'n'seek with me and the Racers at the time." Ralph nodded.

"Oh yeah, that was fun." Luann smiled. "Of course having a fun uncle, aunt, and cousin helps." She ruffled Reneult's hair.

"Luann get off!" Reneult pretended to be annoyed. "I like your name Atara, how did you get it?"

"Thank you." Atara smiled as she helped her father open the console without harming it. "Originally dad wanted to name me Atari, after the video game company, but mom was against it so dad compromised with the name Atara."

Luann and Reneult chuckled.

"So what's the upgrade for?" Tamora asked.

"A lot of boys have been complaining about Sugar Rush having more girl Racers than boy Racers." Mr. Litwak explained. "I wrote to TobiKomi and they agreed to add more boy Racers. However they aren't actual Racers yet, TobiKomi wants the consoles to get used to them first."

All the girl Racers, except for the ones who already had boyfriends, started giggling to each other. Luann and Reneult rolled their eyes.

"Hey, you're older than us physically Luann." Snowanna smirked.

"Yeah but I still have the mind of a kid. You guys already have teenager minds even though...man sometimes it's weird being a game character." Luann winced.

"Yeah no kidding." Reneult agreed.

The adults chuckled.

Before upgrading the game, Atara decided to go over each character using her laptop.

"Hm, interesting characters." Atara said almost to herself. "I'm glad the companies have been putting more detail into their games...uh-oh."

"What's wrong?" Mr. Litwak asked.

"One Racer too many." Atara explained. "Didn't take into account that TobiKomi doesn't know about Reneult did you dad?"

Mr. Litwak facepalmed.

"Shoot, I forgot about that." He admitted.

"No problem, I'll look through these new Racers and see if one can be reprogrammed. Good thing I got this laptop from...ah, here we go." Atara smiled. "This one is a cowboy and more into horses, so I can make him a non-Racer. Interesting, he also has a Native American best friend who isn't a Racer. I think she'd appreciate him not being a Racer as well, it might make her less lonely during races."

"Horses?" Vanellope smiled.

Candiel winced, but sighed.

"Well, I do have to move on eventually. Maybe I can learn to be near horses without getting painful memories of Maltina." He shrugged.

"Hm...maybe that's why they added a cowboy to the list." Mr. Litwak guessed.

"Could be." Atara agreed.

She and Mr. Litwak finished the upgrade and closed the console before turning it back on.

"There we go, that should do it." Atara dusted off her hands and picked up her laptop.

There was a knock at the door.

"Attract Mode everyone!" Yuni from DDR called.

The Sugar Rush characters hid as the other characters went into the motions they did when they weren't being played. Mr. Litwak went to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. There was a delivery man with a giant package.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Delivery from TobiKomi." The delivery man said. "It's a new console, I think it's that game they recently completed."

"Oh yes that scavenger hunt game I pre-ordered." Mr. Litwak smiled. "Good, I was hoping it would arrive soon. Here let me show you where I want it..."

Mr. Litwak led the delivery man to the back of Sugar Rush. Atara went over to Fix-It-Felix Jr.

"I've gotta go, dad can take things from here." She whispered. "Bye guys, I'll try to bring my kids over one day to meet you all."

"Bye Atara." Ralph and Felix whispered as everyone else waved.


	2. The New Characters

After the new game was installed the delivery man left.

"Okay, it's clear!" Yuni called.

All the characters relaxed.

"So what's this new game like?" Felix asked.

"It's a cousin to Sugar Rush." Mr. Litwak explained. "It takes place in the same world, but in a different section of it. Kinda like how Sugar Rush was based on European countries this game is more like New York City. In fact it's still called that, except it's short for New York Peppermint City. Anyway, the purpose of the game is to find everything on this list in a mall in a certain amount of time. It's also a way to have a scavenger hunt in bad weather, which is what inspired TobiKomi to create it in the first place. And because of it being a scavenger hunt game it can have three players instead of one or even two."

"Sounds like fun." Crumbelina smiled.

"It takes place in a mall, of course you would find it fun." Torvald rolled her eyes.

Crumbelina glared at her.

"I've got to go, why don't you guys show the new characters around?" Mr. Litwak said.

"Sure thing." Vanellope smiled. "Okay, us Racers - Sour Bill and dad too - will show the new future Racers around. Ralph, do you want to join us or help show the characters from the scavenger hunt game around?"

"I think I'll join you guys, I am the First-Man to Sugar Rush after all so I'd best respect that." Ralph decided.

"Makes sense." Tamora nodded. "Felix and I will show the scavenger hunt characters around."

"Along with Sonic I'm betting." Felix added. "Even though he's not the oldest game character amongst us he still feels responsible for us."

"Considering how he has to protect his entire planet in some versions I can understand his feelings." Tamora nodded as she and Felix left.

"We'll see you guys later today." Felix waved just before getting in the train.

Everyone else said their goodbyes.

"Well, come on Sugar Rushians, we'd better give our new friends a warm welcome." Vanellope said.

"Especially since they must be wondering where we are." Taffyta added.

The Racers, Ralph, Sour Bill, and Candiel headed for Sugar Rush. When they got near the path to the castle they saw a group of guys - and two girls - there. There were also a lot of adults there too, obviously the parents.

"Hello everyone, I'm President Vanellope." Vanellope smiled. "Sorry for being late, we were in another game. We wanted to watch our game be upgraded."

"No problem Judith." One guy with a tanned body and dark hair braided in cornrows. "We're all just stoked to be here."

"Say what?" Adorabeezle said.

"Uh, my name is Vanellope not Judith." Vanellope gave him a confused looked.

"Sorry, he speaks surfer." One of the girls, who also had a tan but had blue hair in cornrows instead. "Judith is slang for a girl who's new at surfing, and basically he was saying that we're happy to be here. I'm Stormberry Funnelburk and this my brother Bodhivian Coco Funnelburk."

"Bodhi for short." Bodhivian added. "We had a radical time back home in Topicanga Beach, but my sister and I have been wanting to try inland sports so we came here for vacation."

"Topicanga Beach is in Los Anjelly USA." Mr. Funnelburk added.

One by one the rest were introduced.

Next up was Matlow Smartietz. He was a very smart student who was also here for a vacation, but mostly was here to make some friends. He also was really pale and wore pale clothing.

"You mean you don't have any friends back home?" Candlehead was shocked.

Matlow shook his head awkwardly.

Then there was Graham Cocoachella, a French lad who lived up north. He and his parents wanted to see what the rest of Sugar Rush was like and so moved into the kingdom for their vacation.

"J'aime Sugar Rush already." He winked.

All the single girls giggled at his French accent...except for Crumbelina. Graham looked at Crumbelina interestedly.

Charleston Chewster, Charles for short, again was just here for a vacation. According to his outfit - a 1920s candy striped suit with a straw hat - he loved vintage stuff and he soon confirmed it.

"Yeah, the last of the great stuff was in the 1970s." He finished.

"You know arcade games were in their Golden Age during the 1980s right?" Nougetsia pointed out.

"Yeah I know...and I also really hate it when people point that out." Charles frowned.

"Sorry, didn't know." Nougetsia said apologetically.

"It's okay." Charles smiled.

"Hello everyone!" A boy dressed in red and who also had red wild hair leapt forward; the really interesting thing about him was that he was wearing a hat with an orange sparkler on it. "Adamec Fireaday, but you can call me Adam. I'm here to check out the ice cream mountains and ride those slopes!"

"You like skiing and snowboarding?" Swizzle smiled.

"That and performing stunts." Adam grinned.

"Me too!" Swizzle beamed.

"Really? Awesome! Always glad to have a partner on the slopes." Adamec gave Swizzle a thumbs-up.

Swizzle gave one back, grinning. He didn't really have a partner on the slopes either. Well Adorabeezle sometimes skied as well but she wasn't as into the stunts as Swizzle was.

"Howdy, I'm Applelo Westcider." A cowboy said. "Instead of vacationin' my parents and I are actually movin' down here to raise an apple orchard, our old home didn't have enough room. This here is my best friend Mazie Candotte."

"Yeah, unlike prejudice cowboys he happens to get along with us Native Americans very well." Mazie smiled. "My tribe and I have always respected that about Applelo. As for me and my parents we're just here to get a feel of the place so that it'll be easier for us to visit Applelo in the future."

"I'm Bitalo Honeyway and this is my best friend Sourward Lemonscan." A boy wearing black and yellow said. "My parents and I are also moving here, we had too much competition back home so we're restarting our bee farm here."

"Oh, are you getting a feel of the place too?" Mazie guessed to Sourward.

Sourward just looked away.

"Er...actually he had a...painful past back home. I'll let him tell you all what happened when he's ready." Bitalo said awkwardly. "His parents and I hoped that taking a vacation in a new area would help him heal."

"I'm sorry about your past." Citrusella said to Sourward sympathetically and a bit shyly.

Citrusella always was shy around strangers, but Jubileena and their friends have been helping her get over it. Hasn't completely worked, but it has helped her to be able to actually talk to strangers on the first meeting.

There was one boy left. His father gave him a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

"Uh...hi." The boy said shyly. "I'm Pepsino...Leccasodio...uh..."

"Forgive him, he's really shy." Mrs. Leccasodio said. "We were hoping that taking a vacation here would help him get over his shyness."

Vanellope introduced the original Racers to the new ones.

"And this is Sour Bill, he's my adviser." She finished up. "If you want to talk to me while I'm in the castle just let him know and he'll lead you to me. This here is my dad Candiel, he was king but when I assumed the throne I decided to make Sugar Rush a democracy. Wasn't really into the princess thing. This big handsome guy here is Ralph, my husband, he's from the game Fix-It-Felix Jr. When he first visited this game he met me and we became best friends. Later on we...well since he's my husband I'm sure you've all already guessed that we fell in love." She chuckled. "This young lad here is Reneult, our son."

"Not to be rude, but how come you're an adult and the other Racers are kids?" Adam asked.

"I altered my age so that I could be with Ralph. Originally I had a kid form as well but if I dated him in that form it would've made things hard for him socially. Now, Taffyta will lead most of you to the hotel while Sour Bill and my family and I find proper locations for the apple farm and bee farm. Maybe we can even have them close together?"

"That would be great in our case, the bees can pollinate the apple trees." Mr. Westcider smiled.

"Mmm...apple honey." Bitalo licked his lips. "I'd love to try that."

"Same here." Mrs. Honeyway smiled.

"It's settled then." Vanellope grinned. "Follow us."

The vacationers settled in almost right away, but the Honeyway family and Westcider family, plus their guests, still needed their homes built. Luckily Vanellope knew Felix, who could speed construction up for them later.

Meanwhile, Tamora and Felix were helping Sonic, Tails, and Clyde give the new game characters a tour. After the tour was done Sonic, Tails, and Clyde left but Felix and Tamora stayed behind.

"Well, my wife and I want to meet the new Racers in Sugar Rush." Felix smiled. "If anyone wants to join us you're more than welcome to."

"Sugar Rush? That's our cousin game isn't it?" A preteen with orange hair and a tennis outfit guessed; her name was Ayda Wrigley.

"It is, Mr. Litwak confirmed it." Tamora nodded. "He knows about us being alive."

"I'd like to go." A woman with yellow hair grinned; her name was Madison Moore.

"Not surprised Madison, you hardly get to see nature and Sugar Rush is full of it." A light-brown preteen named Kerri Marangoz with a pekingese named Jimmy smiled.

"Yeah, I know Kerri." Madison said sadly.

"Why can't you visit nature a lot?" Felix asked sympathetically. "Nothing in the city?"

"No, my parents hate nature." Madison sighed. "Mom got stung by a bee in her mom's garden when she was a teen and had an horrible allergic reaction. Dad had a really bad camping experience as a kid. Mosquitoes and a bear mostly."

Felix, Tamora, Madison, Kerri, Ayda, and another orange-haired preteen continued talking as they entered Sugar Rush. The other orange-haired preteen was Ayda's twin Skyler, a fashionista. Their parents, deciding that their daughters were safe with Felix and Tamora, decided to just head home. All except for Madison's who were already home. They hadn't been interested in the tour.

Eventually they caught up with Vanellope and her family. Sour Bill and Candiel were the only ones not there.

"Ah good, we were just about to look for you Felix." Vanellope smiled. "Two of the new characters and their parents are actually moving in so I was wondering if you could help build their new homes. They're going to set up farms here so it would be a big help to them."

"Sure thing." Felix grinned.

He then introduced Vanellope to the quartet from the scavenger hunt game.

"It turns out the name of their game is Sweet Scavenge." Tamora added.

"Cool name." Reneult grinned.

"Thank you, and who are you?" Kerri smiled.

"Reneult, I'm Vanellope's son." Reneult smiled.

"Wreck-It-Ralph but you can call me Ralph." Ralph smiled. "I'm Vanellope's husband."

"Say, where's Candiel and Sour Bill?" Felix asked, looking around.

Felix was asking this because normally when Vanellope was in Sugar Rush Candiel and Sour Bill weren't too far behind.

"They're helping the families plot out their new lands." Ralph explained, pointing to where some building materials were being set-up.

"Oh."

"So, would you like to meet your 'cousin characters'?" Vanellope asked.

"I would." Madison grinned. "I hardly get to visit nature."

She explained why as they headed for where the farms were going to be. Vanellope wanted to show Felix the area plus give the vacationers a chance to unpack and settle down.

"Horses!" Madison gasped with delight, seeing some from far off.

"Yeah, some vans moved them in recently." Mrs. Westcider smiled. "President Vanellope said that ah friend of hers could help us build our homes fast so we thought we'd best brin' them here now."

"That would be me, Fix-It-Felix Jr from the game Fix-It-Felix Jr at your service." Felix smiled.

"Felix, you know that is redundant right?" Ralph smirked.

Felix gave him an annoyed look.

"Hey cool, maybe if dad will let me I can get a pet horse today." Vanellope smiled. "If you have any to spare I mean."

"Sure, we raise horses for shows as well as apple farmin' so we should have plenty handy." Mr. Westcider smiled.

"Maybe later Sugar Cookie...I, uh..." Candiel arrived looking a bit pained.

"Still miss mom that badly huh?" Vanellope said sympathetically.

"Yeah." Candiel nodded.

Vanellope quickly explained to those who didn't know, and they expressed their sympathies.

"It's okay dad, I can still wait." Vanellope smiled.

Candiel looked grateful...and a little guilty.

"Well howdy." Applelo then showed up. "Who are these ladies?"

"We're characters from Sweet Scavenge, the cousin game to this one." Skyler explained.

"Can I see your horses?" Madison asked. "I love all animals and never saw a horse in real life before."

"Well then we'll have to remedy that." Applelo grinned. "Follow me."

He and Madison went over to where the horses were. Ayda, Kerri, and Skyler followed.

"Hey Mazie, this is Madison she's here to see the horses." Applelo smiled.

"Hello." Mazie smiled. "I'm Applelo's best friend. You've come to the right place for horses, the Westciders raise the best ones."

Applelo showed Madison and her friends the horses.

"This is Pielan, my horse." Applelo pointed to a palomino who had come over to see the new people. "Mazie's tribe gave him to me as thanks for bein' so nice to them."

"Hello Pielan." Madison smiled as she petted Pielan's muzzle. "You're so lucky Applelo, you get to be around animals and out in nature every day. I wish I had your life."

"What's your life like?" Applelo asked.

"My friends and I live in the city, New York specifically." Madison explained. "Not as fun as being out in nature, but there are things to do."

"There sure are, there are sports arenas and gyms." Ayda smiled.

"Plus theaters, concert halls, and music stores." Kerri added.

"Not to mention all the clothing stores." Skyler grinned. "The city fashions are wonderful."

"Heh, I prefer the zoo, park, aviary, and arboretum myself." Madison shook her head. "I mean the places my friends mentioned are fun too, but not as much fun. At least not for me."

"Hm..." Applelo thought for a moment. "Would any of you like to learn how to ride ah horse?"

"Really?" Madison beamed. "I'd love to!"

Her friends politely declined, so Applelo helped Madison saddle up a gentle strawberry-roan and mount it before mounting Pielan.

"Mazie, since I'm goin' to be teachin' Madison how to ride how 'bout you and your mom go ahead with checking out the town?" He said.

"Good idea, after all we'll be leaving later today anyway." Mazie agreed.

She left to find her mom. Madison's friends watched as she and Applelo slowly started riding.

Mazie found her mom...and a raccoon found her. Specifically her shoulder.

"Oh hello Bribon." Mazie smirked. "You can come with us if you promise not to cause too much trouble."

Bribon nodded.

"Mom, Applelo is teaching a city girl named Madison how to ride a horse so how about we go ahead and explore the town?"

"Okay, I would like to see more of Sugar Rush before we leave anyway." Mrs. Candotte agreed.

"Allow me, I can show you around." Sour Bill offered.

"Thank you Sour Bill, that would be helpful." Mrs. Candotte smiled. "Don't want to get lost after all."

"Right." Sour Bill led them away from the farms.

The buildings were nearly complete by this point, mostly thanks to Felix. His knowledge of construction helped to speed things along and his golden hammer prevented do-overs.

The three of them walked until they neared the Kart Bakery.

"That is the Kart Bakery, where Racers make their karts if they lose their previous ones." Sour Bill explained. "The new Racers will also be making their karts here, President Vanellope upgraded the factory not too long ago so there are plenty of choices for them."

As they got closer, they saw a preteen talking to the security guard. The preteen had very short brown hair under his red cap and was wearing jeans, a red jacket, and what looked like a yellow shoulder bag. With the preteen was a goat.

Bribon suddenly leapt off Mazie's shoulder and ran towards the security guard.

"Bribon!" Mazie called, annoyed.

She, Mrs. Candotte, and Sour Bill ran after Bribon. Bribon now neared the goat and leapt on him, grabbing onto his horns. The goat let out a startled bleat and started trying to buck his new rider off. Despite the jerks and spins, Bribon seemed to be enjoying himself.

"What in the...?" The preteen stared at the scene.

Mazie and Mrs. Candotte now saw that the preteen was a girl, not a guy as they originally assumed.

"I'm so sorry, that's my pet raccoon on your goat." Mazie said apologetically. "Bribon you get off that poor goat right now!"

"It's okay." The preteen laughed. "As long as Bribon doesn't hurt Bosko there's no problem. Bosko needs the exercise anyway."

Mazie couldn't help but chuckle.

"All right, as long as Bosko doesn't harm Bribon I guess I can let this go." She smiled.

"I'm Henreesa Mugino but I preferred to be called Henry. I'm too much of a tomboy for a feminine name." The preteen offered her hand.

Mazie shook it and introduced herself and her mom.

"Hey Sour Bill, giving them a tour?" Henreesa smiled.

"Yes, they arrived with some new boy Racers today." Sour Bill nodded. "Mr. Litwak wanted to balance the boy-girl Racer ratio."

"Makes sense." Henreesa nodded. "Oh, this is my papa. We call him Beard Papa because he was based on the mascot for the Beard Papa cream puff chain."

"Hello." Beard Papa smiled. "I'm head of security for the factory, but you probably already guessed that."

"So, you and your mom moving in?" Henreesa asked Mazie as Mrs. Candotte talked with Beard Papa.

"Nope, but my best friend Applelo Westcider has with his family." Mazie smiled. "Mom and I went along to get used to the place since we'll be visiting him. Not dad, not as much. He's a really busy member of our tribe."

"Ah. No mom at home in my case, she and dad kept fighting about the long hours he works here." Henreesa said. "So they divorced. Almost was put in her custody but I insisted on staying with papa, mom was too closed-minded for my taste. Anyway, because papa still works long hours he gave me Bosko years ago as a guard goat. Most intruders know what to do with guard dogs so papa figured a guard goat would be more effective."

"Interesting." Mazie said. "Didn't really choose my pet either. He chose me." She giggled. "I would've picked a more well-behaved pet but Bribon wouldn't leave me alone so I ended up adopting him. Even gave him a collar since he likes to explore the woods and forests a lot."

"Heh, he's quite the little rascal huh?" Henreesa smirked, turning back to Bribon and Bosko; they were still at it.

"He sure is...that's why I named him Bribon actually." Mazie nodded. "I waned to give him a name that meant rascal so I looked up foreign versions of the word online as soon as I could find a computer. Bribon is Spanish for rascal."

"I named Bosko after Bosco Chocolate Syrup." Henreesa explained. "It's my favorite brand of chocolate syrup. It's cool that you have a pet raccoon...also cool that you have a best friend."

"Don't you have one?" Mazie asked.

"Just Bosko, I prefer animal company to human company." Henreesa shrugged. "The other Racers are more causal friends than close friends to me."

"I like animals too." Mazie smiled.

"Really?" Henreesa smiled back.

They started talking about animals for a while.

"Oh Henry." Beard Papa suddenly spoke up. "How would you like to join Mazie and her mother on their tour?"

"Dad!" Henreesa complained; she then sighed, annoyed. "Fine." She quickly calmed down and smiled. "Actually, I'd love to. See you later papa."

"Bye Henry." Beard Papa waved as they left.

"You okay Henry?" Mazie asked.

"I'm fine, I just hate it when someone says 'oh Henry' to me." Henreesa explained. "You see, uh, my candy theme is Oh Henry! candy bars."

"Oh..." Mazie got it. "Oh well, can't help your theme. We Native Americans pretty much just have fry bread as our theme. Human Native Americans didn't really have goodies and candies like the other nationalities did."

They continued talking as they headed into town. By this point Bosko gave up trying to buck Bribon off and just sulked after Henreesa. Bribon rode him for some more minutes, and then transferred to Mazie's shoulder.

"Had enough huh you little scamp?" Mazie smirked to Bribon.

Bribon stuck his tongue out at Mazie. Henreesa chuckled. Bosko wasn't amused at all.


	3. Friends Are Made, Some Not Easily

Meanwhile, in town, most of the vacationers were hanging around town with the Racers getting to know them.

Charleston was going through some titles in a DVD store. Nougetsia happened to be there as well, though she was looking among a different group of titles. She then saw Charleston.

"Hi Charles." She smiled.

He looked up, turned, and saw Nougetsia.

"Hello...Nougetsia right?" He smiled back.

"Yeah. What're you looking at?" She went over to him.

"Vintage movies. I'm trying to pick which ones to buy." Charleston explained. "My parents said I could buy a few movies for vacation. The thing is, I don't know whether to get ones I've seen but don't have or ones I haven't seen."

"How about something completely new?" Nougetsia suggested. "I can see that these are all American titles so how about some British vintage ones? I can show you some of mine."

"Hm...never saw foreign vintage films before..." Charleston admitted. "Okay, just let me ask my parents, they're outside somewhere."

"No problem, I'll call mine as well." Nougetsia took out her cellphone.

Each Racer and non-Racer had a cellphone so that they could keep in touch with their parents. They didn't use them that often though since they hardly got a reason to.

Charleston talked to his parents as Nougetsia talked to hers. Then their parents talked to each other through Nougetsia's phone and everything was arranged. Nougetsia led Charleston to her home and into the den. They started to watch British vintage movies for a few hours, and then Nougetsia took Charleston to her room to introduce him to her pet chinchilla Marsha. Marsha and Charleston liked each other, and Charleston told Nougetsia about his pet dalmatian Rin-Tin-Tin.

Around the same time Candlehead had made it her mission to become Matlow's friend.

"Hi Matlow." She smiled, finding him in a bookstore.

He looked up from the science book he was reading.

"Hello Candlehead." He said politely.

"So, I was wondering why you don't have any friends." Candlehead asked.

"I had been too busy with my studies back home to make friends." Matlow explained. "My parents kept wanting me to make my education top priority. But then my teacher talked them into letting me just be a kid and make some friends."

"Gee, if you studied so much then what did you do for fun?" Candlehead asked.

"I...never really had fun before." Matlow admitted. "Mostly I read and worked on science experiments."

"That won't do." Candlehead shook her head. "Come with me, I can help you have fun!"

She grabbed him and dragged him away despite his protests. She started off slow by teaching him a few board and card games, but already he was a bit overwhelmed. Candlehead was too energetic for him.

Adamec and Swizzle, having instantly bonded, continued to chat excitedly about performing stunts together the next day while everyone else was getting settled. They headed into the sports store...where they ran into Bodhivian and Stormberry. Not literally luckily.

"Oh hello." Swizzle smiled.

"Hi, we were just wondering which ball sport we should try first." Stormberry smiled. "I mean I've played beach volleyball many times before, but we haven't really played the other sports."

"Yeah, all of them seem to rock but each in their own way." Bodhivian nodded.

"Oh yeah, all sports are cool in one way or another." Adamec agreed.

"What about school, I mean didn't you learn any in PE?" Swizzle asked.

"Stormberry's grade doesn't have PE and I, uh, was never really picked for team sports." Bodhivian rubbed the back of his head. "I was the only dude in our school and the other students thought I was a dweeb."

"By dude he means 'surfing enthusiast', and in this case dweeb means someone who acts like a simpleton." Stormberry added. "Our school was closer to inland than to the beach so the other students mostly visited the beach for camping and beach volleyball. In Bodhi's case dad used to live near the beach before he married mom and so got Bodhi into surfing."

"Oh." Swizzle understood.

"Say, how about the four of us team up? Swizzle and I can teach you a few sports." Adamec offered.

"Awesome!" Bodhivian smiled.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Stormberry smiled.

"Hey Swizzle!"

He and his new friends looked and saw Minty and her sisters.

"Oh hi Minty, Sticky, Torvald." Swizzle smiled before turning to his new friends. "Guys, I'm sure you remember Minty and her sisters from Vanellope introducing us."

"Of course." Adamec smiled.

"We saw you guys talking and were wondering what you had planned." Torvald explained. "Maybe we can join you if you'd like."

"Sure, Adam and I are going to teach Bodhi and Stormberry how to play a few sports that require balls." Swizzle smiled. "We can't all play or the teams will be uneven though..."

"No problem, I can be the referee." Sticky smiled.

"Righteous, let's go!" Bodhivian smiled enthusiastically.

They headed for a nearby gym to practice. The gym was a way for everyone to play sports now and then, Sugar Rush had racing for it's national sport so all other sports were just for fun and didn't have teams or organizations. Anyway, during practice they learned that Adamec's sparkler worked like a mood ring: it showed what he was feeling.

Graham, around this point, was still interested in Crumbelina and so was in town looking for her. Crumbelina had headed off on her own earlier while he was being led to the hotel. He finally saw her at a fancy table outside an Italian restaurant.

"Bonjour." He smiled. "I was wondering where you ran off too."

Crumbelina looked up from her food. Luckily she had memorized all the names of the new characters earlier. She always hated to seem rude, though sometimes couldn't help but become rude when she got angry.

"Oh, hello Graham." She said politely. "I left to have lunch, would you like to join me?"

"Oui, merci." Graham sat down and looked at the menu. "Hm, it all looks so bonne. What do you recommend?"

"You asked the right person, I happened to be a fan of Italian food." Crumbelina smiled. "Not surprising since I'm part Italian. Try the Fettuccine Alfredo ."

Just to explain: Sugar Rush food tasted more like desserts no matter what it looked like, but the citizens still called them by the same names we gave them.

"Ah Italian, another romantic nationality." Graham smiled. "I'm French myself, but you probably already guessed that."

"I think everyone who met you did." Crumbelina nodded.

A waiter then came by and took Graham's order.

"So, what do you like to do?" Crumbelina asked after the waiter left.

"Well, celebrate Noël mostly." Graham said.

"Christmas is your favorite holiday huh?"

"Oui, I just loved the joie it brings to people and the beauté of the decorations." Graham smiled. "Of course I can't celebrate it all year, so I've learned to cope by doing other things. French cooking mostly, but I also like talking to the ladies."

"That's why you're interested in me? What about the other ladies?"

"You are the first lady to not be affected by my French accent." Graham explained. "And I got curious."

"Ah. Well I don't care about accents or anything." Crumbelina explained. "I'm...selective, you might say, when it comes to men. I want only the best for myself, especially since I have big plans for my future."

Graham just smiled. He was really starting to like Crumbelina.

"So, what do you like to do belle?" He asked.

Crumbelina looked a little wary, knowing that he just called her beautiful in French (it was an easy guess anyway), but answered his question:

"My favorite activity is to create new fashions. It's mostly a hobby right now but I'm planning to turn it into a career in the future. I also like to race obviously, but don't let my sophisticated nature fool you. I can be pretty bold on the track. Also, like you I have been cooking, except in my case I practice Italian cooking."

"Incroyable!" Graham grinned. "I admire a woman with spirit."

They talked a bit longer as they ate, and Graham's heart had started to beat a little fast. Then after Graham was done eating he found to his embarrassment that he left his money packed up in the hotel.

"Oh let me." Crumbelina took out her wallet.

"Oh no-" Graham started to protest.

"Relax, it's no trouble." Crumbelina smirked. "My dad owns the restaurant so I get a discount here anyway."

"Oh." Graham relaxed. "Merci beaucoup."

Crumbelina paid. After it was taken care of...

"That was délicieux, merci for the recommendation." Graham got up. "And merci again for paying for my meal."

"Anytime, I'm glad you liked it." Crumbelina got up too. "Well, I have a few designs I'd like to work on so if you'll pardon me..."

"Un moment s'il vous plaît." Graham went over to her. "I have never met a dame like you before. I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight? I do owe you for lunch after all."

"Well...very well, but only because you feel you owe me." Crumbelina shrugged. "Excuse me."

She left.

"Ce qu'est une femme." Graham sighed. "I think...je suis en amour."

Now there were only two new characters who didn't really meet anyone: Pepsino and Sourward. Sourward was with the Honeyways of course, and just hung out near the farms by himself. Pepsino was in his hotel room, too shy to try to make a friend.

Close to the end of the day, Mazie, Mrs. Candotte, Henreesa, and Applelo and his family went to the train station. Same with Madison and her friends.

"It's too bad you don't live here Mazie, I'd like to hang out some more." Henreesa said.

"Same here. Maybe I can talk mom into visiting more often than she planned." Mazie agreed.

"Bye Mazie, I'll really miss you." Applelo said.

"Ditto." Mazie agreed as she and Applelo hugged.

Madison and her friends also said their goodbyes. Mazie and Mrs. Candotte then got on the train.

When it was dinner time most of the vacationers ate either in the hotel or in town, and some of them ate with the original Racers they had befriended. Charleston had ended up staying at Nougetsia's for a long time, so he and his parents were invited to have dinner there. The Chewsters, Charleston especially, accepted the invitation and had a good time talking to the Winterpops. Charleston also ended up liking Nougetsia's sister Adorabeezle, especially her love of America.

As for Graham and Crumbelina, they had a good time as well. They ate in a French restaurant so that Graham could give her his own recommendations, and at the end of the meal he of course paid for everything.

"I had a merveilleux time Crumbelina." Graham smiled as they left the restaurant.

"I had fun too." Crumbelina smiled back. "Thank you for dinner."

"Soyez le bienvenu." Graham looked at her lovingly.

Crumbelina's smile faded. She recognized that look from back when Gloyd had a crush on her.

"Crumbelina, I have never met anyone like you." Graham admitted. "I was wondering if you would like to go out with me again tomorrow."

"Sorry, I'm still busy with those new designs." Crumbelina said politely.

"Then maybe the day after oui?" Graham took her hand and kissed it.

"No." Crumbelina said less politely, taking her hand away. "I'm sorry but you're not my type."

She left. Graham just shrugged it off. He didn't mind her rejecting him surprisingly. Instead of being hurt his heart just started beating faster than it had during lunch.

"J'aime a challenge." He smiled. "We shall see which is stronger in the end: love or indifference."

The next day the arcade was open, obviously. Mr. Litwak told his customers about the new Sugar Rush Racers, explaining that first the console had to get used to having new characters in it before they can actually be used as avatars. His customers understood, and almost all of them - especially the boys of course - couldn't wait to see the new additions.

The new Sugar Rush characters watched all the races from the stands. Already the preteen ones were interested in learning how to race - except for Applelo of course - having found the idea fun. Some, like Adamec, also found it cool.

Bitalo especially was interested, but there was a problem: he was too scared to try.

After the arcade closed, the Roster Race was held. Vanellope wanted to get it out of the way so that the new characters could hang out with the original Racers more before night fell, because she had already worked with Rancis and Taffyta about setting up a party to officially welcome the new characters. They would've asked Candlehead to help as well, but she was too busy with Matlow.

Swizzle and Adamec, after the Roster Race, immediately left to go to the ice cream mountains.

"Can we watch you guys perform stunts?" Minty asked, catching up to her boyfriend with her sisters.

"Of course." Swizzle smiled.

"Always welcome to have an audience." Adamec grinned, his sparkler turning blue.

"I'd like to come too, I like watching anything action-packed." Bitalo came closer, having overheard.

"You must've really enjoyed the races then." Torvald grinned.

"Oh yeah, a lot." Bitalo smiled.

"Come on let's go!" Adamec said, running ahead enthusiastically as his sparkler turned orange. "I want to get in as many stunts as possible before the party tonight."

"Okay, take it easy." Swizzle laughed. "We're coming."

He, Minty and her sisters, and Bitalo ran to catch up with Adamec.

Swizzle and Adamec performed all types of stunts with Minty, Torvald, Sticky, and Bitalo cheering them on.

"That's my boyfriend!" Minty said proudly after Swizzle accomplished a tricky stunt.

"Oh yeah? Watch this." Adamec grinned from the top of the ramp.

He skied down and caught some big air in an eagle position. He then did a few flips before doing a gorilla turn that made him fakie down the rest of the way after he landed.

"Wow!" Even Swizzle was impressed. "That was awesome!"

"It was but no one is better than you in my eyes." Minty smiled.

"You're too sweet...but I love that about you." Swizzle smiled back.

"Whoa, that was a really cool stunt!" Torvald grinned. "I love it when athletes go all out."

"You really like watching action huh?" Bitalo smiled.

"Oh yeah, nothing better!" Torvald grinned. "I also love going on adventures and participating in the action. Not really into sports though. I mean I am a tomboy but most sports take a lot of skill. I don't mind learning new things but I'd rather just jump in and have fun without making sure I'm doing something right. One time I was playing soccer in school and I was having so much fun that I accidentally used my hands instead of my feet to get the ball."

She laughed and Bitalo laughed too.

"So yeah, sports are fun but they aren't really my thing." Torvald said after she calmed down. "I'd rather explore, race, and go on fast and thrilling rides."

"I would like to enjoy all that too, but I can only watch." Bitalo sighed.

"Really? Why?"

"I'm...I'm too scared to try them." Bitalo admitted.

"Well nothing wrong with being scared. Heck anything you try the first time can be scary." Torvald shrugged.

"Still, I would so love to try...pretty much the only time I've ever been brave was when someone was in trouble." Bitalo said. "Like one time when...well I can't tell you the whole story but someone hurt a friend of mine really badly. I was so mad that I told off that person right in public without caring about who else was there."

"Very cool of you." Torvald grinned. "After all true bravery is doing something important and selfless for someone else no matter how scary it may seem."

Bitalo smiled at her gratefully. He also felt some sort attraction to her.

"Say, Torvald, would you like to hang out during the party tonight?" He asked. "I mean you'll probably want to hang out with your sisters, but..."

"Actually I'd love to. The whole purpose of the party is to help you new guys make friends and such here, so my sisters and I already agreed to just do our own thing anyway." Torvald smiled.

Bitalo grinned.

Oh, and Sticky? Well she was the only one who didn't say anything about Adamec's stunt. She just blushed a little and felt her heart skip a beat.

Now almost all of the rest of the new characters were back in town, save for two. Applelo wasn't because Madison had visited again to help him and his parents plant apple trees. Pepsino wasn't because he was trying to calm himself before the party.

This meant that Sourward was actually in town. Bitalo had already left anyway and Sourward didn't want to stay at the farms since Mr. and Mrs. Honeyway were busy helping the bees to settle in. So, he decided to explore the town and see what was there. As he did he ran into Citrusella.

"Oh hello Sourward, I was hoping to run into you today." Citrusella smiled. "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out somewhere? I'd really like to be your friend."

"No thanks." Sourward scowled before brushing past her.

"Why not?" Citrusella asked as she caught up to him. "You can't have too many friends after all."

"Look, I don't trust anyone all right?" Sourward snapped. "Bitalo and his parents are the only ones outside my family I do trust! So leave me alone!"

Citrusella was shocked, but recovered and looked determined.

"No, I won't." She said. "Because I used to be too shy to make new friends, but my sister Jubileena and my pet flying squirrel Nutsy helped me see that there was nothing to be shy about."

Sourward just glared at her and continued walking away. Not willing to give up, Citrusella followed him and continued trying to befriend him. She felt too sorry for him for being in pain to let his resentment scare her off even though some of the things he said hurt her slightly.

That duo wasn't the only rocky relationship either. Candlehead was back to trying to teach Matlow how to have fun and again she was too energetic for him. Instead of board and card games she now was teaching him a few simple sports like ping-pong. Matlow didn't know how to say no without hurting her, and his saying 'no thanks' and such weren't working, so he was stuck playing the games with her. And already he was finding her annoying.

Graham and Crumbelina's relationship, once pleasant, was turning a bit rocky as well. Graham was trying to woo her with French, which wasn't working, and it looked as if Crumbelina was starting to get annoyed. No surprise: she was in a cloth shop trying to pick which materials to buy. Graham did try to help by suggesting what she would look beautiful in, but that just made things worse.

"Ah, now this red ribbon would look magnifique in your hair." Graham flirted.

"Graham enough!" Crumbelina lost it at first, but managed to calm herself down. "I'd rather make my decisions on my own so please leave."

Graham, sensing that he was getting close to crossing the line, bowed slightly and left the store. He then went over to a little cafe and think things over.

"Maybe I should try being more romantic...maybe red roses?" He said to himself.

"For who?" A female voice said behind him.

Graham turned around and saw Taffyta behind him. He then saw Rancis next to her.

"For Crumbelina, I have never met such a belle femme before." Graham smiled.

"Oh you've got your work cut out for you." Rancis chuckled.

"Rancis..." Taffyta warned playfully.

"Well he does." Rancis shrugged.

"Okay true...Crumbelina didn't tell you did she?" Taffyta turned back to Graham.

"Tell me what?" Graham asked.

"That answers my question." Taffyta moved so that she could sit in front of Graham; Rancis followed her and also sat down. "Crumbelina has very high standards for her future, including the type of guy she wants to end up with."

"She did tell me about that, but I am kind, generous, and romantic." Graham said. "What could be higher than that."

"Someone from a noble family." Rancis said. "And by noble I mean a lord or duke at least, though I think she wants to go as high as a prince."

"Ah...and I am a peasant." Graham got it.

"In a way, yeah." Taffyta agreed. "But don't lose heart. The rest of us always knew that Crumbelina had set her sights too high when it came to her future boyfriend. This was proven when a few people of nobility came to the kingdom back before Vanellope married Ralph. They originally went for Vanellope, but she turned them down. Later on Candiel agreed with her, and luckily for her they gave up when they found out that Vanellope had picked Ralph. Crumbelina, while it lasted, took advantage of the situation and asked out the lords and such who came. The relationships never lasted long though. Even so Crumbelina hasn't given up, but the rest of us know that she will never land someone who has a noble title. Besides, what she really deserves is someone with a noble heart."

"And not all people of nobility have noble hearts." Rancis added. "Sometimes peasants can have more noble hearts than the nobility themselves. So if you prove to Crumbelina that you have a noble heart then you might actually win her over."

"I will try that, merci." Graham smiled.

"Anytime." Taffyta smiled. "Now if you'll pardon us Rancis and I have to see Vanellope about the party. We want to run a few choices by her...wish Candlehead would help us." She then frowned.

"Last I saw her she dragged off that one new character somewhere...I think his name was Matlow something..." Rancis guessed.

"If you mean the pale one then yeah. His full name is Matlow Smartietz." Taffyta nodded. "Well, we'd better go. See you later Graham." Taffyta got up.

"Bye." Rancis smiled as he got up too.

"Au revoir." Graham waved; he then went back to talking to himself. "Now, to think of a way to prove my noble heart to Crumbelina..."


	4. Welcome Party

That night, at the party, most everyone was having fun. Sourward was still being...well, sour...and Matlow was still annoyed with Candlehead...oh yeah, and Pepsino was too shy to engage anyone in conversation. Citrusella of course was getting a little annoyed with Sourward but still wouldn't give up on him. She even offered him a few treats but he turned her down, preferring to get his own treats.

The rest of them were having fun though. This included, Ralph, Tamora, Felix, and Madison and her friends. Madison could come often because her parents didn't know where she was going each time. She just told them she was going to hang out with her friends, and they assumed that she meant her three oldest friends in the city. She hadn't even told them about her new friends yet or even the fact that she had checked out Sugar Rush. She believed they wouldn't approve.

It didn't take long for the dance music to start and almost everyone went out onto the dance floor. Even Tamora and Ralph did, though Ralph made sure to try to have as much space as possible so he wouldn't hurt anyone accidentally. He was gentle when he had to be, but he could still cause accidents (which the Nicelanders could confirm).

After many minutes the crowd on the dance floor started to part a little.

"Okay everyone, it's time for me to show you how dancing's really done!" Snowanna leapt out onto the cleared space.

"Go Snowanna!" Some of the original Racers cheered.

Snowanna started to dance, and it didn't take long for the new characters to become really impressed. This wasn't surprising, Snowanna was the best dancer in all of Sugar Rush. She knew almost every single dance ever invented and even invented a few moves of her own.

One new character was more impressed than anyone else: Pepsino. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

After the party he built up the courage to talk to her. He didn't succeed until they were near her house (his parents already knew where he was going and let him; they wanted him to have friends that badly).

"Uh...Snowanna?" He said shyly.

Startled, Snowanna turned around and saw Pepsino behind her. She hadn't noticed him before because he was really good at walking without being noticed. He had a lot of practice with that back home.

"Well hello there, have you been following me this whole time?" Snowanna smiled, sounding amused.

"Yeah...sorry I..." Pepsino blushed.

"It's okay." Snowanna grinned. "Always happy to make a new friend." She offered her hand. "Sorry, forgot your name what was it again?"

Pepsino blushed, even shyer. Despite his shyness however he couldn't run away or anything. It was like he was glued to the spot...and it was the first time that ever happened to him. Snowanna, getting it, gently grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Er...Pepsino..." He managed to say.

"Pepsino, right." Snowanna smiled. "I really like your name, it's very peppy."

"Th-thank you..." Pepsino blushed even more.

"You don't seem that peppy though...is there anything I can do to help?" She asked sympathetically.

"No...this is something I have to conquer on my own." Pepsino shook his head. "Anyway, uh...your dance moves tonight... I mean they were...well..."

"If I can translate right: they were really great and you liked them a lot?" Snowanna guessed.

"Kinda...more like awesome and...and I love them." Pepsino finally managed to admit. "I was really impressed...especially since I love dancing too, I just..."

"Can't do it in public." Snowanna finished knowingly.

"Exactly." Pepsino didn't know why, but he was starting to feel less shy around her. "I'm too scared that someone will make fun of me or I'll make a fool of myself."

"Nonsense, it doesn't matter how good you are." Snowanna shook her head. "What matters is that you have fun. Say, how about you dance with me here? I can turn on my boombox."

Snowanna was the one who had brought the music and the boombox to play the music on to the party.

"I don't...but...are you sure?" Pepsino hesitated.

"Come on, just go with the flow." Snowanna grinned as she turned on her boombox.

Dance music started to play and Snowanna started to dance. Pepsino froze at first, but then Snowanna grabbed his hand and twirled him.

"Loosen up!" She laughed. "There's nothing to be scared of!"

Pepsino actually smiled and slowly started to move. Already the music and Snowanna's energy started to sweep him along. Soon he was dancing without a thought. After some minutes Snowanna actually stopped and gaped at Pepsino. Pepsino still danced for a moment until he saw her staring at him. He then stopped dancing.

"What?" He said nervously.

Snowanna turned off her boombox.

"That was amazing!" She declared. "You dance as good as me! And that's saying something."

Pepsino blushed.

"R-really?" He couldn't believe it. "I mean I have been practicing almost my whole life but..."

"I'm serious, we should totally be dancing partners!" Snowanna grinned.

Pepsino couldn't help but smile back.

"I would really like that...but I'm not sure I can dance in public just yet." He admitted.

"It's okay, we should practice dancing together anyway." Snowanna nodded. "I'm not used to having a dancing partner. How about you come to my house tomorrow to practice a few dances? It'll be more private than the hotel so you don't have to worry about anyone else seeing you save for my parents and pet corn snake Blizzard."

"Cool, I have a pet frog named Mr. Fizz." Pepsino smiled. "I call him that because he likes making bubbles and then catching them with his tongue."

Snowanna laughed.

"I'd love to see that." She grinned.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun to watch." Pepsino nodded. "Anyway about coming over to your house tomorrow: I'd like that. I'll have to ask my parents first but I'm sure they'll agree."

"Excellent, see you tomorrow." Snowanna raised her hand.

Pepsino caught on and high-fived it.

"See ya." He grinned as Snowanna left.

He then headed back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, Bitalo, his parents, and Sourward were talking about the party.

"Well, that was a great party." Mr. Honeyway smiled.

"I'll say, I think we're going to love living here." Mrs. Honeyway agreed.

"Well I can't wait to go home." Sourward frowned.

"Oh yeah, I saw that one Racer trying to hang out with you." Bitalo said. "Well you should give her a chance, or at least-"

"Bitalo." Sourward interrupted. "Please, I just...I can't..."

Bitalo gave him a sympathetic look.

"Okay, just keep in mind that if you keep this up you could end up hurting other people." He put a hand on Sourward's shoulder.

Sourward hung his hand.

"I know there's that chance...but I'm too scared of being hurt again." Sourward actually shed a tear and then clutched his chest. "My heart..."

"Can't take another incident like that again, I know." Bitalo nodded.

"Speaking of girls." Mr. Honeyway said, wanting to change the subject. "I saw you hanging out with that golden one at the party."

"Yeah, her name is Torvald." Bitalo smiled. "I met her when we were watching Swizzle and Adam perform some stunts in the ice cream mountains earlier today. Her sister Minty is Swizzle's boyfriend." He then sighed. "Torvald is the amazing one though, she's so bold. She's willing to try anything new and loves action like I do, except she's braver about participating in the action. I...I really like her."

His parents and Sourward were stunned.

"Are you kidding me?" Sourward said. "Back when your parents and I were trying to talk you into giving dating a shot you were entirely against it due to not being interested. But then not long after we give up you-"

"I know I know!" Bitalo laughed. "The timing does stink, but...but I think my heart was just waiting for the right girl first before letting me become interested in dating. I mean Torvald...I just never met anyone like her. I can't explain it."

"Well, we're very happy for you either way son." Mrs. Honeyway smiled. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"Not yet...I'd like to become a Racer first." Bitalo then sighed sadly. "But I'm too scared to try."

"Well, if Torvald is brave and bold like you said maybe she can help you with that." Mr. Honeyway suggested.

"Maybe...I'll ask her tomorrow." Bitalo nodded. "Thanks dad."

You see, it turns out that Bitalo was insecure about ending up with Torvald because of his being scared a lot. He knew that Torvald was right about true bravery, but still believed that the only way he could start to be good enough for her was if he learned how to race. If only the speed of the karts and obstacles along the track didn't look so scary...


	5. Carnival of Chums

The next day, after the arcade closed, Bitalo sought out Torvald and did what his father suggested.

"Hi Torvald, I was wondering if you could help me." He said.

"No problem, what do you need help with?" Torvald smiled.

"Well, I really want to try racing but...but I'm too scared." Bitalo admitted.

"Hey know sweat, I know just how to help you:" Torvald grinned. "Get you used to different parts of racing one at a time."

"Really? How are you going to do that?" Bitalo asked.

"The Sugar Rush Amusement Park." She grinned. "It's a free theme park for citizens so they can unwind whenever they need too. I'm sure the rides there can help you."

"Uh, but I don't have any money." Bitalo said awkwardly.

"Relax, guests of citizens get in free too." Torvald grinned.

"Well...okay. Sounds like fun." Bitalo smiled.

"Great, come on!" She grabbed him and led him to the amusement park.

Meanwhile things were going on as usual in other areas:

Citrusella was still trying to befriend Sourward with no luck. She tried asking him to go somewhere with her, but he still kept refusing so she just ended up going with him everywhere despite his not wanting her too.

Candlehead was still trying to befriend Matlow with no luck (this time she was using sports to get him to have fun).

Sticky and Minty watched Swizzle and Adamec have fun on the slopes, and Sticky was starting to find Adamec cooler than Swizzle (ironically, given Adamec's theme).

Snowanna and Pepsino were dancing together in Snowanna's dance room. It had been the spare room in her house, which she had turned into a dance studio.

Graham was trying to show Crumbelina his noble heart, but she was still stubborn about going out with him...or not going out with him rather.

Bodhivian and Stormberry were still practicing a couple of the sports the Swizzle and Adamec taught them. Basically they were practicing baseball and basketball, after learning the basics they had asked Swizzle and Adamec if they could practice them on their own. Swizzle and Adamec, wanting to enjoy the slopes, agreed and promised to teach Bodhivian and Stormberry a couple other sports when they were ready. Next up was soccer and tennis (Bodhivian and Stormberry weren't interested in football because of the tackling, they didn't want to get hurt that way).

Nougetsia, Adorabeezle, and Charleston were hanging out watching more vintage movies. Not a lot though, their parents wanted them to do other things as well. So after a couple of movies they talked for some time and played Monopoly. During the game Charleston surprised Adorabeezle and Nougetsia with his special talent: the ability to imitate famous stars of the past.

"I'm gonna get that property see? Yeah, and you can't stop me either." Charleston said as Edward G Robinson as he moved his racecar token around the board.

Adorabeezle and Nougetsia laughed with delight.

"That is awesome, I didn't know you could do that." Adorabeezle smiled.

"Well that's because I don't like to show it off." Charleston grinned in his own voice. "I just like doing it for fun."

"Do some more!" Nougetsia smiled.

Charleston did. He did Tizzie Lish for the iron, Groucho Marx for the dog, Lucille Ball for the thimble, Frank Sinatra for the top hat, Fred Allen for the sack of money, Old Timer for the wheelbarrow, and Jack Benny (as Buck Benny) for the man-on-horseback. Adorabeezle and Nougetsia loved it despite not recognizing some of the voices.

Later on when they went to get a snack Nougetsia introduced Charleston to a few British foods. He didn't like all of them, but found a few things tasty.

Back to Torvald and Bitalo: they were having fun at first in the amusement park. Torvald had started off slow with the minor rides...but then started to switch to the more intense ones.

"Uh...are you sure it's safe?" Bitalo said nervously after she led him to the calmest roller coaster in the park; it still looked a bit too intense for him.

"Of course, I've ridden this one loads of times." Torvald shrugged. "I only stopped riding it so often when I got big enough to ride the other roller coasters, they were more fun. I still ride this one sometimes for nostalgic reasons though."

"Er...I don't know I...you know what I'm getting hungry and it's not a good idea to ride fast rides soon after eating so..." Bitalo tried to escape.

"Oh come back here." Torvald grabbed him in time and dragged him over to the line for the ride. "You can eat after this ride okay?"

"Okay..." Bitalo said weakly.

They went on the ride, and Bitalo was terrified during the whole thing. When the ride stopped Torvald had to help him out. She then lay him against a nearby bench so that he was half-sitting/half-lying down.

"That was horrifying!" He nearly squeaked. "If that was the calmest coaster then there is no way I'm riding the other ones."

"If you don't then I can't help you become brave enough to race." Torvald smirked.

Bitalo groaned.

"Wait here." Torvald left.

She then came back with a chocolate smoothie.

"I think something cold and chocolate might help you." She said.

Bitalo slowly drank the smoothie. By the end of his drink he felt a lot better.

"*Whew*, thanks Torvald I needed that." He said with relief, getting his voice back.

"No problem. We can take a breather for a while." Torvald smiled as she sat down next to him.

Bitalo decided to take a slight nap to help calm himself down. A bit later on he had to go to the bathroom, and once he came out Torvald decided it was time to go on the other roller coasters. However she took him to the next one without telling him first, so he didn't catch on until they were already in line.

"What? Oh no not another one!" Bitalo groaned. "I thought you were going to take me to a calmer ride!"

"Sorry Bitalo, but if you can get used to these roller coasters than racing will be nothing." Torvald smiled mischievously.

Bitalo now got her plan and was really scared. Torvald caught on and so kept him in line by holding onto his hand tightly. Bitalo wanted to escape but he liked having Torvald's hand in his and so found it hard to free his hand.

They went on that coaster and Bitalo was even more terrified than before. Torvald let him calm down again and then took him on another one. She also had to help him off that ride, but before she could lay him on a nearby bench again he collapsed.

"If you keep this up you're gonna scare me to death." He gasped. "I mean what are you, a golden grim reaper?"

"Very funny." Torvald said sarcastically. "For your information no one has ever died of fright in this park. Or any other way for that matter."

"Well then I guess I'm gonna be the first." Bitalo clutched his heart, which was still pounding.

"Don't exaggerate, you're not the first to be this scared after one of these coasters." Torvald helped him up. "Actually I'm among the few who hasn't gotten scared on these rides."

"Doesn't anything scare you?" Bitalo asked more out of curiosity than annoyance.

"Just death or needing to leave the game permanently, but who isn't scared of that?" Torvald shrugged. "We already learned that staying in your game while it's being unplugged doesn't kill you so no one is scared of that anymore."

"Well it's not like anything could actually cause us to permanently leave right?" Bitalo was starting to calm down a little.

"There is one thing..." Torvald actually shivered.

Bitalo was shocked. He had never seen her scared before.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Cy-Bugs." Torvald shivered harder.

Bitalo put an arm around her and helped her sit on the bench with him.

"What are Cy-Bugs?" He asked.

Torvald explained and also explained Turbo having taken over Sugar Rush until Ralph came along. Bitalo dropped his mouth open. She included the information that Turbo had locked up Candiel and traded places with him.

"Unbelievable...I mean I believe you it's just..." He said.

"I know, when we found out about Turbo and remembered the truth about Vanellope we were just as shocked. Even more." Torvald nodded.

"Gee..." Bitalo didn't know what to say at first, but he soon got his voice back. "No wonder Vanellope fell in love with Ralph. I mean he was willing to sacrifice his life for this game. Her game."

"Well, it was mostly to save her. If she had been able to escape Ralph probably wouldn't have done it." Torvald smiled. "And Vanellope didn't realize her feelings for Ralph until she nearly lost him around a year later. Turbo returned as a cybug monster for revenge, having escaped being burnt to death at the last second, and Ralph nearly lost his life as he and his friends tried to defeat him. Fortunately they were able to, Turbo is completely gone."

"That's good, I'd never want to meet that jerk." Bitalo said with relief.

"Now come on, I'm not done with you yet." Torvald grinned.

"Oh spinach..." Bitalo muttered.

They went on another coaster. This time Bitalo fainted on the ride so Torvald had to drag him onto a bench and lay him down for real. He was out for quite some time but Torvald wiping his forehead with a wet cloth managed to wake him up.

"No more Torvald." Bitalo said weakly. "Have some mercy here...can we take a real break this time? I don't think my heart can take another ride."

"Okay, I'll show some leniency." Torvald scanned the park and found one of the calmest rides. "We'll take a break on the ferris wheel."

After Bitalo recovered enough to be able to walk Torvald led him to the ferris wheel. Bitalo had never been to an amusement park or carnival before so he didn't even know what a ferris wheel was until he saw it.

"That's the largest thing in the park!" He gasped, afraid again. "No way...I'll stay on the ground."

"I promise it won't be scary." Torvald turned and saw him about to protest. "Or kill you." She added.

"Fine." Bitalo gave in, too tired to argue.

They went on the ferris wheel. Bitalo clutched the bar in front of him as it started to turn upward, but slowly let go due to the ferris wheel being really slow. He then looked over the edge and had to admit the view wasn't too bad.

"This isn't so bad." He admitted. "At least it's going slow."

"I always keep my promises." Torvald smiled.

Bitalo relaxed and just leaned back. Torvald, growing comfortable, leaned against Bitalo. Bitalo felt his heart skip a beat and couldn't help but smile. Despite the terrifying day she had given him he still really liked her. Maybe even...loved her.

They both went home near the end of the day very happy. Bitalo even had to admit that the scary rides had been worth spending time with Torvald, and decided to just trust her from now on. Even though she was bold and courageous she wasn't stupid or reckless.


	6. Friendships Improve

June passed and it was now July. Citrusella, Candlehead, and Graham hadn't made any progress at all with Sourward, Matlow, or Crumbelina respectively. The others however had formed really strong friendships.

Pepsino was growing more comfortable dancing with Snowanna, now even dancing with her without a thought. They didn't just dance though, they also talked about other things and played some games. They were becoming very good friends.

Adamec and Swizzle had become like brothers and Sticky found herself liking Adamec a lot more than Swizzle (though still held some affection for Swizzle). They, including Minty as well, had also gone back to teaching Bodhivian and Stormberry other sports.

Torvald and Bitalo were growing closer and Bitalo was starting to grow braver.

Applelo had been showing Madison more nature, and she was getting really good at horseback riding. They also were growing closer, though Madison still hadn't told her parents about her second life.

Nougetsia, Charleston, and Adorabeezle were pretty much inseparable now. They had really been enjoying themselves with vintage, current-British, and current-American things. Thanks to Nougetsia and Adorabeezle Charleston was starting to become more open-minded about current things. However Nougetsia and Charleston couldn't agree on one subject at first: which vintage singers were better. That argument started one day when Nougetsia, Charleston, and Adorabeezle couldn't agree on which music to listen to.

"I tell you Britain produced the best singers." Nougetsia frowned.

"No way, Americans had the best singers." Charleston frowned. "You agree right Adorabeezle?"

"Sorry, I'm staying out of this." Adorabeezle shrugged. "I'm equally loyal to both America and my sister. Hence why we never argued whether British culture or American culture was better."

"Look, American singers had nothing on British singers." Nougetsia said. "British singers topped them all the way."

"You're crazy." Charles scoffed. "How can you say anyone can even get up there with Frank-freaking-Sinatra or Bing-blasted-Crosby?"

"Let's see:" Nougetsia pretended to think it over. "Freddie Mercury, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Elton John, the Bee Gees, Queen..."

"I get it I get it..." Charles muttered. "I'm not saying you're entirely right but...you do have a point. I admit I can't help but like The Beatles or Elton John anyway..."

"Well, I really like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby too." Nougetsia grinned.

Charles smiled back.

"Okay so then we're agreed: we each have our own tastes and no one's preference is better than another's right?" Adorabeezle chuckled.

"Right." Charleston and Nougetsia chuckled.

"Right, and if you two argue about this subject again I'm gonna hit you both with my Ice Cream Cannon." Adorabeezle smirked.

"Well then we'll have to save those arguments for summer." Nougetsia laughed. "That way we'll get a good way to cool off."

"Eh, I'd rather avoid these arguments entirely." Charleston smiled. "I don't like fighting with you."

"Me neither...I guess our pride just got the better of us." Nougetsia shrugged.

"Yeah." Charleston agreed.

"You think?" Adorabeezle smirked.

Charleston and Nougetsia gave her a playful-annoyed look.

Now as for the relationships that weren't working out...

Candlehead had decided to introduce Matlow to a few ways of having fun in winter. She first started off with a sled ride, still not knowing that Matlow didn't like her at all. He only had been continuing to let her teach him how to have fun because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. See back home he had been a little more honest than he should've, and it caused the other students to shun him. So when he and his parents went to Sugar Rush for vacation he vowed to think twice before speaking.

"Candlehead, please, I'm not sure about this." Matlow protested.

"Oh relax, there's nothing to it." Candlehead smiled. "I've sledded lots of times before."

"Yeah but I never have."

"That's why I'm taking you sledding now. Here we go!"

She pushed off and they went down the hill they were on. Matlow was scared at first...but then had to admit that this was kinda fun. Candlehead cheered and laughed and Matlow actually smiled.

But then Candlehead miscalculated on one jump. She had forgotten that there was extra weight on the sled and so had jumped wrong. They both landed in a chocolate puddle at the bottom of the hill instead of landing past it and coasting to a stop.

"Oh no..." Candlehead said apologetically as she wiped her face. "Oh Matlow I'm sorry, I forgot that there were two people on the sled instead of one...I miscalculated..."

Matlow spluttered as he spat chocolate out of his mouth and wiped his face and clothes. Candlehead was very upset, Matlow looked furious. He turned and glared at her...but then saw how sorry she looked. He calmed down a little and...a strange noise started to come out of his mouth. The noise got louder and louder until Candlehead was smiling: Matlow was laughing. Soon he was laughing so hard that he had doubled-over. Candlehead, overjoyed, started laughing as well. They both were now laughing and laughed until they ran out of breath.

"Did I..." Matlow said breathlessly. "Did I just laugh...?"

"You did." Candlehead was catching her breath as well, but it was easier for her since she had practice laughing.

"I've never laughed before...not in my entire life..." Matlow admitted.

"Really?" Candlehead looked sad. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well I never had a reason to..." Matlow shrugged. "At least not until now. Thank you Candlehead, I actually have been wanting to laugh before but could never bring myself to."

"You're welcome." Candlehead smiled.

Matlow looked at her, and suddenly saw her in a new light. She was no longer annoying to him, instead she was just a little too energetic for him.

"Candlehead I...I admit I hadn't been having fun at all before." He said. "In fact I found those games...more annoying than fun. But today...I don't know why but today I actually had fun."

"Maybe...it's because you finally loosened up?" Candlehead suggested. "Laughing can do that to you."

"I guess...anyway I...well I would like to play with you some more but on one condition."

"What is it?"

"That we play at my pace instead of yours."

"It's a deal." Candlehead grinned.

They got out of the puddle, and Matlow found out something surprising: instead of staining his clothing the chocolate just fell off it without leaving a mark. He decided to look into this later, as for now he was just going to have more fun with Candlehead.

The next day Candlehead wanted to play some more but Matlow had other ideas.

"You taught me how to have fun, so it's my turn to teach you something: facts you don't know." Matlow smiled.

"How are you going to do that?" Candlehead asked.

"Simple: we'll take a hike and if you don't know something just ask me and I'll explain it." Matlow grinned. "I can't guarantee to know everything, but I have learned a lot more than most other students."

"Okay." Candlehead grinned. "That actually sounds like fun."

They went on the hike, and Matlow ended up teaching Candlehead many things.

Later that day, Citrusella had decided to bake a blueberry pie, her specialty, for Sourward. She then looked for him and found him in the park.

"Hi Sourward, I made this pie for you." Citrusella smiled.

"Ugh, don't you get it?" Sourward snapped. "I'm never going to be friends with you, or even like you! Now leave me alone before I do something I might regret!"

He ran off, leaving Citrusella more hurt than ever before. She dropped her pie and ran for the nearest bench. She then cried on the bench, not knowing that Sourward was nearby. He had double-backed and was hiding amongst the plants behind the bench in hopes that not even Citrusella would be able to find him there. He listened to her cry and started to feel bad.

"Citrusella!" He heard a female voice gasped.

He peered between the plants and saw a girl with a candle on her head. Candlehead of course, her name was one of those names that anyone could remember.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" Candlehead asked.

You see she was taking a walk through the park so that she could use the information Matlow told her to enjoy the walk more. Like which plants were good to snack on, especially in combinations.

"Sourward..." Citrusella sniffled. "I made him a pie but he acted as if I had done something to offend him. I've just been trying to make him feel better but he acts as if I'm hurting him. Maybe...maybe I should give up."

"Now don't do that." Candlehead said gently. "You know how I've been trying to teach Matlow how to have fun?"

"Yeah, but from what I've seen you haven't been having any luck." Citrusella wiped an eye as she sat up.

"I just had some luck yesterday." Candlehead grinned. "We went sledding but ended up in a chocolate puddle. He was about to get mad but then started laughing and we became friends for real. We also hung out today and he taught me so many cool facts about the plants and animals around here. Anyway, my point is: don't give up. If someone has a good heart then they'll eventually come around."

"You do have a point..." Citrusella sighed. "I mean I can tell Sourward has a good heart...it's just in so much pain...I wonder what happened to him?"

"I doubt we'll know until he tells us." Candlehead shrugged.

Sourward now felt horrible. Bitalo had been right: his fear of getting hurt again caused him to hurt someone who was sincerely trying to make him feel better. He quietly snuck away and went to think things over. Maybe he should give Citrusella a chance...he then saw something blue on the path. He left the plants and saw Citrusella's pie on the ground. Fortunately it had landed pan-first so it was still in pretty good condition, albeit a little messed up. But the most important thing was that it was still edible. Sourward picked up the pie and headed towards Citrusella. Candlehead was gone, having left recently down a different path.

"Citrusella?" He said gently.

Citrusella turned and saw Sourward holding her pie.

"You overheard didn't you?" She realized.

"Yes...I'm sorry for making you feel bad." He sat down next to her. "I just...I had been really hurt not too long ago and I've been scared of being hurt again."

"Oh." Citrusella realized. "But I'd never hurt you. I'd never hurt anyone."

"I thought the one who had hurt me would never hurt me either." Sourward frowned. "She also had been kind and sweet towards me...but it was just acting!" A tear flowed down his cheek.

Citrusella got it:

"Ex-friend."

"Ex-girlfriend actually...her name was Thembara." Sourward tried to contain his feelings. "I was so in love with her, and I thought she loved me back...but she had just been using me. Her full name was Thembara Sluggum...and her parents owned the company that rivaled the one my parents own."

"Oh no..." Citrusella put a hand to her mouth.

"Exactly." Sourward nodded. "We had been dating for a few months when I had made the mistake of letting her into my parents' factory. I was going to inherit the factory next so I was very into learning how things were done and even participated in the production. I left for just a short time to help a worker with a problem...and Thembara took that opportunity to steal some files containing recipes. We had been using copies in the computer instead and so didn't even know they were gone until dad went to file something a couple days later. He, mom, and I were furious. Even though we didn't use the files anymore they had still been passed down throughout the family for generations, same with the factory itself, and so were special to us. They were like heirlooms to us really.

Anyway, we couldn't figure out who stole the files until I asked Thembara the next day to help us locate the thief. She said we could stop looking...because she stole the files. I thought she was joking, until she revealed her true feelings. She didn't care about me at all, she just cared about her family becoming wealthy and resented my family for being more successful. She admitted everything, that she only went out with me so that she could get the files and that she never loved me or even liked me... She also said that she was glad we wouldn't have to continue dating because...because she hates me, and my family. She said so herself. She...she even said that any girl would be a fool to want to go out with me..." Sourward lost it and set the pie aside so that he could cry into his hands. "Then she pushed me down, calling me worthless and a loser. She broke my heart so badly that I was never able to trust strangers again. It happened a few months ago and I still haven't healed...my heart is still broken..."

Citrusella shed tears of her own, feeling more than sympathetic for Sourward. She hugged him, catching him off-guard. He then saw her tears and realized that she truly felt sorry for him.

"I'm so sorry...no one should ever have to go through with that." Citrusella sobbed.

"I know...anyway after all that happened I told my parents." Sourward had calmed down a little but was still shedding tears. "They weren't mad at me but they were furious about what Thembara did, especially for hurting me. Bitalo and his parents, who used to live outside the city I came from, also found out and were very mad and sympathetic. Bitalo especially, he started hanging out with me even more so that I could have someone there to comfort me whenever I cried or lost my temper. But the best thing he did was to tell Thembara off." Sourward then actually smiled. "I didn't see what actually happened, but according to Bitalo he had seen Thembara in the park and lost his temper. He screamed at her for hurting me and for stealing from my family, and said that she was the real loser. He also called her a split-peabrain for missing out on her chance to spend the rest of her life with me."

Citrusella laughed a bit.

"That must've felt great." She grinned.

"It did, when I found out, and I only did because Bitalo was still angry when he came to my place - we had planned to play some games at the time. Anyway, I asked what was wrong and he admitted to telling Thembara off. I thanked him for being brave enough to do that, especially since I didn't have the courage to do it myself, and hugged him." Sourward sighed, still smiling a little. "Bitalo and I first met in kindergarten - he lived close enough to go to the same school as me - and we have been inseparable ever since. I'll never know what I did to deserve such a good friend like him."

"I'm sure you did a lot of things...and I'm also sure you deserve more good friends." Citrusella said a bit shyly. "I understand you not wanting more friends, but I still would like to be your friend."

"Well..." Sourward hesitated. "I don't know, I mean...if my heart ever got broken again I know I'd never recover from it...not that I'm actually recovering from last time."

"I know, all I ask is that you give me a chance." Citrusella put her hand on his. "We don't even have to be official friends or anything, I just want to be able to be kind to you without getting yelled at in return."

"That I can promise." Sourward nodded. "I do feel really bad for hurting you before."

"It's okay, that was just your pain and fear talking." Citrusella smiled. "Not you."

Sourward actually smiled back. Citrusella then hugged him again. Sourward froze, but couldn't help from hugging her back. His heart still hurt horribly, but despite that he was starting to feel a little better.


	7. A Noble Trick?

So, two out of three rocky-road relationships had smoothed out. But what about the third?

Well Graham, wanting so much to prove his noble heart to Crumbelina, figured out which clothing store was her favorite and got a job there. He hoped that his willingness to work hard would impress her, plus his working at her favorite store could cause them to grow closer. It wasn't working at all, and by July Graham was feeling a little frustrated despite still enjoying the challenge. He then got an idea: even a noble heart wasn't above a little trickery. Namely: reverse psychology. After all Crumbelina did think highly of herself...

"I think that you and I could along quite nicely if you finally gave in ma belle colombe." Graham flirted after work one day.

"If I said no the first time, what makes you think the eighteenth time is any different?" Crumbelina rolled her eyes and looked away.

Graham pretended to think it over.

"You know, I thought I really loved you ma chère but you are simply not worth the time or effort for a guy like moi. There are plenty of Swedish Fish in the sea, and though you are a very bright fish I'm sure there is one just as colorful and not as bitter. As my people say: Au revoir ma dame." He started to walk away.

Crumbelina snapped her eyes to him, very offended. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"Did you just say that 'I' am not worth 'your' time?" She snapped. "No one talks to me that way and walks away to brag about it. You want to be my beau? Fine!" She scowled.

Graham suddenly dipped her so that she couldn't break free from him without falling.

"I knew you'd see it my way mon amour." He smirked. "We can have our first date tomorrow at six, oui?"

Crumbelina dropped her jaw, realizing what had just happened.

"How dare you, you tricked me!" She glared before growling.

"You still said yes and I don't see you saying anything about taking it back ma biche." Graham challenged playfully.

Crumbelina still glared at him...but couldn't take it back. She was too proud to ever take back her word. She hung her head.

"Fine. Tomorrow at six." She said reluctantly.

"Merveilleux." Graham un-dipped her and kissed her hand. "I'm really looking forward to it. I shall leave you alone now, if you wish."

Crumbelina blushed slightly in spite of herself. She had just looked into his eyes and had seen that he really was in love with her.

"Yes, please." She nodded.

"Very well." Graham left.

Crumbelina leaned against the wall by her and hung her head again, feeling like an idiot.

"Crumbelina?"

Crumbelina turned and saw Henreesa there.

"Are you okay?" Henreesa asked.

"No, Graham used reverse psychology to trick me into going out with him." Crumbelina sighed.

"Well, you gotta give him credit for knowing you so well." Henreesa chuckled.

"Henreesa..." Crumbelina glared. "Just because you're not interested in dating doesn't mean you can joke about the rest of us dating."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Henreesa dropped her amused smile. "But seriously maybe you've set your standards too high."

"What do you mean?" Crumbelina frowned.

"Well what's more important? A noble title or a noble heart?" Henreesa pointed. "Despite not being interested in dating even I know that a noble heart is more important."

"Well do you think it's noble to trick someone into dating you?" Crumbelina frowned.

"No one's perfect." Henreesa shrugged. "But let me ask you this: apart from tricking you into going out with him did he ever take advantage of you?"

"Well...not really." Crumbelina sighed. "Actually he's been quite the gentleman. Even after he tricked me into going out with him he only kissed my hand. He did dip me so that I couldn't escape but he didn't take advantage of that like some guys might."

"There you go." Henreesa looked sad instead of smiled.

"Is something wrong?" Crumbelina asked, noticing her sadness.

"You know Applelo right? Well I became really close with his best friend Mazie." Henreesa explained. "And I haven't seen her since last month."

"Well she is going to visit Sugar Rush right?" Crumbelina said.

"Yeah, but I don't know when." Henreesa sighed. "I've never had a friend like her before. I...I miss her."

"Just have patience, I'm sure she's really missing you too." Crumbelina smiled. "So she'll convince her parents to bring her back here soon."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks." Henreesa smiled.

"No problem, even not-so-close friends can help each other out." Crumbelina shrugged.

"True...and speaking of which just give Graham a chance okay?" Henreesa added. "If you don't really love him back later I'm sure he'll respect it and back off. He just probably heard about your high-standards which was why he tricked you."

"Yeah...I guess you have a point." Crumbelina sighed. "Okay, he has until the end of vacation. If I don't love him back by then then it's definitely over."

"Good idea, long-distance relationships can be tricky to work out anyway so I'm sure he'll agree."

"Exactly."

"Henreesa!"

Startled, Henreesa and Crumbelina turned and saw Applelo ran up to them.

"Got a call from Mazie..." He panted, smiling. "She and her parents are coming tomorrow!"

"Really?" Henreesa beamed. "Thanks for telling me Applelo."

"No problem." Applelo grinned.

"Wait...how did she call you?" Crumbelina asked. "Forgive me if this sounds offensive, but I thought Native Americans preferred staying out in the wilderness without technology."

"They do, but Mazie learned how to use a phone and other electronics recently." Applelo explained. "I taught her before we came here so that she could use a public phone in the nearest town to call me or a computer to e-mail me. Haven't convinced her parents to get her a cellphone yet so I can't call her..."

"No wonder she didn't ask to exchange phone numbers." Henreesa realized. "Of course I didn't think to ask her either..."

Not too far away, Bodhivian was sadly watching Stormberry join some random kids in a game of basketball. The kids weren't Racers, but rather just some extra citizens who lived in Sugar Rush but just watched the races on TV due to not being that interested in them.

"Hello Bodhi."

Bodhivian turned and saw Adorabeezle.

"I'm Adorabeezle." She smiled. "I was wondering if you want to hang out."

"Maybe...but what could we do?" Bodhivian asked. "I'm not really into inland sports it turns out, at least not ones that use balls...Stormberry got into them though."

"I can see that." Adorabeezle nodded. "That's why I came to ask you to hang out, you seemed lonely."

"I appreciate that, thank you." Bodhivian smiled. "So, what should we do?"

"Well, I happen to know a couple inland sports that don't require balls and might be more your thing." Adorabeezle grinned. "Follow me."

Confused, Bodhivian followed her until they were in the ice cream mountains. There they saw Adamec and Swizzle at it again, with Minty and Sticky watching.

"So this is what they do when they aren't teaching me and Stormberry inland sports." Bodhivian realized.

"What they're doing right now is called skiing." Adorabeezle smiled. "It's kinda like water skiing, except gravity pulls you along instead of a boat. There's also snowboarding, which is a bit like surfing without waves. Plus if you wipe out you don't have to worry about drowning."

"Sounds more like my thing...doesn't look bogus anyway." Bodhivian considered it.

"Great, but let's head to another area." Adorabeezle went over to another part of the mountain. "That slope is for experts, not butt-draggers."

"Huh?"

"Skier talk for beginning snowboarder."

"Oh."

Adorabeezle first taught Bodhivian how to ski, since it was a little easier. Bodhivian didn't get the hang of it right away, but he did find it more fun than any sport that required a ball. After some time they both started to get hungry, so they went to the resort nearby to get a snack.

"Want to ski some more?" Adorabeezle asked after they were done.

"Nah, I'm too beached." Bodhivian patted his stomach contentedly. "How about tomorrow?"

"Perfect." Adorabeezle smiled. "I'm glad I was able to help you find an inland sport you like Bodhi."

"And I'm glad you offered to teach me how to ski Adora." Bodhivian smiled.

Adorabeezle blushed a little, already liking that nickname.


	8. Bad News and Good News

The next day Mazie showed up with her mom and dad. She looked really happy as she got off the train.

"Applelo!" She waved.

"Hey Mazie!" Applelo waved back.

They ran up to each other and hugged.

"Man I've missed you." Applelo said.

"I've missed you too." Mazie agreed.

"He's not the only one who's missed you."

Mazie looked past Applelo and saw a grinning Henreesa.

"And he's not the only one I've missed." Mazie grinned back.

Applelo let go and let Mazie go over to hug Henreesa. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Applelo cleared his throat. Mazie and Henreesa then awkwardly let go.

"Say Mazie, how come your dad came too? I thought he was always busy." Applelo asked.

"He is but..." Mazie suddenly looked sad. "It's been harder to live on our land. Ever since you and your family left the other cowboys have been trying to kick us out so that they can have the land."

"Aw man...I was worried that would happen." Applelo frowned. "I wish the programmers hadn't made them like the cowboys on TV. You know, the ones who always fought the Native Americans."

"That's horrible." Henreesa was angry but controlled her temper.

"I know...but there is some good news with it." Mazie now smiled.

"Huh?" Applelo and Henreesa both said.

"My dad's been thinking of moving the tribe here." Mazie grinned.

Applelo and Henreesa looked at Mazie stunned, and then realized what that meant. They cheered and Mazie laughed with delight as well. The three of them then had a group hug.

The news spread to Vanellope, who decided that there should be another party to introduce the tribe to everyone. Even Mr. Candotte agreed due to liking the kingdom already. The tribe moved into the woods near the Westcider farm the very next day.

During the party that night everyone was having more fun than they did at the previous party. Sourward was nicer to Citrusella and Candlehead and Matlow were finally friends.

Also Bodhivian and Adorabeezle had really bonded, and Stormberry had bonded with Adorabeezle as well. Stormberry liked Adorabeezle's loyalty towards America, and was grateful that she had given Bodhivian a couple of inland sports that he could enjoy. Adorabeezle in turn liked Stormberry's cheerful personality and how she was kind and sweet towards everyone. It wasn't long before the two became like sisters.

Adamec and Swizzle also hung out with them, still good friends with Bodhivian and glad that he was learning how to ski and snowboard. They offered to help teach him, but Adorabeezle and Bodhivian said it was okay. Adorabeezle wasn't as good a skier or snowboarder as even Swizzle, so it was actually better that she teach Bodhivian first. Then once Bodhivian becomes as good as her Swizzle and Adamec can teach them both how to ski and snowboard even better. Swizzle and Adamec agreed that was a better idea.

Henreesa, Mazie, Applelo, and Madison and her friends were having a great time as well. They had even almost become somewhat of a group. This made Henreesa very happy, finally she had more than one close friend. Though she had to admit that she was only really close to Mazie, Applelo, and Madison. Madison's friends were okay, but they were into things that she wasn't really into. She did like sports and movies/music, but not as much as Ayda and Kerri. And Henreesa certainly wasn't into fashion like Skyler.

Torvald and Bitalo also were having a really good time. Bitalo had gotten a lot braver about the amusement park rides, and had even learned to enjoy a few of the scary ones. Torvald of course was very proud of him and was grateful that he wasn't mad at her for making him go on rides he had been scared of. In fact instead of being mad, he was grateful. After all he was the one who asked her to help him become braver in the first place and it was working.

Nougetsia and Charleston were also having a great time. They kinda missed Adorabeezle hanging out with them, but they were glad that she had made some new friends of her own. Besides, they had plenty of fun on their own.

The party really picked up when Charleston requested for some vintage songs to play...and to everyone's surprise (except for his parents, Adorabeezle, and Nougetsia) he sang along in the exact same voice of each singer. When he was done everyone applauded, but no one cheered as much as Nougetsia.

Only Crumbelina wasn't having a good time. She still regretted letting Graham trick her into dating him. Unfortunately, she had seen how much he really loves her and could also see how happy he was to be with her. Rejecting Gloyd was easy because he only had a stupid crush on her (the pranks being the stupid part), but rejecting Graham wasn't going to be easy at all. She really did like Graham as a friend and so was scared of hurting him.

But when they started slow-dancing, she had to admit that he was a really good dancer. She actually felt comfortable in his arms...though still didn't love him back.

Then later on the upbeat dances began. Everyone prepared to give Snowanna room...but got a surprise. Snowanna did go up to the dance floor as expected, but Pepsino had automatically followed her onto the dance floor without thinking. He was now so used to dancing with her that he was ready to dance with her again, forgetting that they weren't alone. Snowanna however hadn't forgotten.

"Pepsino?" She was surprised.

"Well yeah, come on aren't we going to dance?" Pepsino smiled.

"Well I am but uh..." Snowanna glanced around.

Pepsino did as well and realized what he had done.

"Oh no..." He started to get stage fright.

"Relax, just dance with me and you'll be okay." Snowanna smiled. "Remember: you are as good a dancer as I am."

Pepsino smiled gratefully. He and Snowanna then started to dance together. Soon he had forgotten about being in public again, and started to just have fun with Snowanna. By this point they had practiced dancing together enough to look as if they had been dancing together their whole lives. Everyone was amazed by Pepsino's dance moves, not having known before that he was as good as Snowanna.

"Wow, they're like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers." Charleston admired them.

"I'll say." Nougetsia agreed, having seen Fred and Ginger before thanks to Charleston.

When the music was done, everyone applauded for them. Snowanna just accepted the applause as usual, but Pepsino was really enjoying himself. His fear had completely gone, and instead he was feeling wonderful.

"Snowanna I think...I think I've completely gotten over my shyness." He grinned.

"That's wonderful!" Snowanna beamed.

"I know and...and it's all thanks to you." Pepsino gazed at Snowanna. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Well, that's what friends are for." Snowanna grinned.

Pepsino grinned back.

"Friends." He agreed; finally he had a friend, and now he'll be able to become friends with the others as well.

A bit later on into the party, Bitalo finally noticed that Sourward seemed to be acting nicer to Citrusella. Tamora had seen it as well, she had been curious about Sourward ever since she first really saw him. After all, who better than her to see his broken heart?

"I'll be right back Torvald, I want to talk to Sourward for a moment." Bitalo said.

"No problem." Torvald smiled, having seen why.

"Sourward?" Bitalo said once he got close enough. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure Bitalo." Sourward smiled. "Excuse me Citrusella."

"Of course." Citrusella shrugged.

Bitalo took Sourward out of earshot of the others. Tamora stealthily followed them after letting Felix know that she'll be back.

"Is it just me, or are you finally starting to become friends with Citrusella?" Bitalo said.

"Not exactly, it's just...you were right about the risk of me hurting someone innocent." Sourward admitted. "I really hurt Citrusella earlier and felt bad, so I decided to apologize and let her be nice to me without being rude to her. Also...I told her about..."

"Thembara." Bitalo finished. "It's good that you did, one of the best ways to let out your pain is to talk about it."

"I know...telling Citrusella actually did make me feel a bit better. She was really sympathetic about it." Sourward admitted. "But I'm still heartbroken."

"I understand, and you have every right to be." Bitalo gently put a hand on Sourward's shoulder. "I'm just glad you're finally starting to open your heart a little. Well, we should get back to the party now."

"You go ahead, I want to think for a moment." Sourward said.

Bitalo just nodded and left.

"You're not the only one with a broken heart lemon drop."

Sourward turned and saw Tamora.

"You too?" He guessed.

"Sort of." Tamora said before explaining her backstory.

"I'm really sorry." Sourward said sympathetically.

"I know, everyone is. However I learned to let go of it." Tamora smiled.

"How?"

Tamora explained about Turbo taking over Sugar Rush, and how that eventually led to her meeting Felix and them ending up together. Unsurprisingly, Sourward dropped his mouth open not too long into the story.

"So I learned that the best thing to do is to let go of the past and move on." Tamora finished.

"Yeah well it was easy for you." Sourward frowned. "At least your previous love sincerely loved you."

Sourward then told her about Thembara Sluggum. Tamora was a little caught off-guard, but not for the reason you think. Instead of getting mad about what Thembara had done she actually chuckled.

"I don't see how my broken heart is funny." Sourward scowled.

"I'm not laughing at you." Tamora smiled. "It's just your story reminds me of what happened to Markowski in our backstory, before things fell in the crapper. He brought in his Russian girlfriend one day and it turns out she was an intel spy for the enemy. She wiped our databanks clean...the commander was so mad." Tamora shook her head with fondness. "I went into enemy territory and got our information back...also left them a parting gift."

"What did you do?"

"Wiped their computers clean." Tamora grinned.

"Heh, too bad I couldn't find the courage to do that to the Sluggum company." Sourward shook his head. "But then again what had really hurt me was the fact that Thembara had never loved me at all... So, how is Markowski taking it now?"

"We can all laugh about it now. Even Markowski can get a chuckle or two out of it when he's not crying for his momma to keep the Cy-Bugs away." Tamora chuckled.

Sourward couldn't help but chuckle back.

"See. It didn't kill ya to crack a laugh now did it?" Tamora smiled. "Guess you aren't as bitter as you think."

"I guess." Sourward shrugged.

"Well you don't have to completely sweeten up. Heck I'm still bitter at times." Tamora shrugged. "Mostly when fighting Cy-Bugs, but sometimes out in public as well. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't let your past control your future because it might prevent you from having a future. Also, you can definitely trust Vanellope and all the other original Racers. Take it from me: they would never intentionally hurt someone good."

"Okay...I'll at least try."

"Good enough."


	9. Surfing Soulmates

Some days passed. Almost all of the relationships were growing stronger, and even Sourward was starting to warm up to Citrusella a little. Matlow and Candlehead were also growing closer, until Matlow found that he actually liked Candlehead instead of disliking her. He also had met her pets Sweetie and Clucka and grew to like them as well. They in turn liked him back.

The only relationship still 'cold' was Graham and Crumbelina. It wasn't too bad, Graham was still a gentleman towards Crumbelina and was also very generous towards her. He was extremely romantic too, giving her small but meaningful gifts like roses along with complimenting her and giving her French pet names. Crumbelina even had to admit that at least this time the guy who liked her actually knew how to treat a lady. However she still resented the fact that he had tricked her into dating him, and tried to be as distant as possible towards him. But much to her surprise, he wasn't offended by her distant behavior. Instead he seemed to enjoy it. Crumbelina just shrugged it off as his love for her blinding him to her resentment.

But speaking of the stronger relationships: close to the end of July Bodhivian had gotten really good at skiing and snowboarding, almost as good as Adorabeezle even.

"Well, you've made wonderful progress this month." Adorabeezle smiled one day after the Roster Race. "Would you like to move up to Adam and Swizzle teaching us how to ski and snowboard better?"

"Nope, I have something else in mind." Bodhivian smiled. "How would you like to go to the beach today instead? I did hear that Sugar Rush has a beach."

"Yeah it does, it's called Sour-Sugar Beach." Adorabeezle nodded. "Haven't been there often since I'm more of a winter person...I do like some things about the other seasons though...oh what the heck? I'm in."

"Sah-weet." Bodhivian grinned.

They headed to Sour-Sugar Beach and Bodhivian headed for the surfboards/water-skis rental shack.

"Why are we going there?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Because I want to thank you for teaching me how to ski and snowboard by teaching you how to water-ski and surf." Bodhivian smiled.

"Really?" Adorabeezle smiled. "I'd really like that."

First up was water-skiing. Bodhivian and Adorabeezle had loads of fun doing that and Adorabeezle even became good at water-skiing.

After dropping off the water-skis they rented they picked out a couple of surfboards.

"What happened to your surfboard?" Adorabeezle asked.

"I left it at home so I wouldn't be tempted to surf all the time instead of trying inland sports." Bodhivian explained.

"Ah."

"Crikey surfs up!" Bodhivian said excitedly.

Adorabeezle turned and saw some choice waves out in the ocean.

"Come on let's takeoff and shoot the curl!" Bodhivian ran towards the waves.

"Hey wait up!" Adorabeezle laughed.

"Banzai!" Bodhivian said happily as he went through a tube.

Adorabeezle didn't start too bad, but after she followed Bodhivian into the tube she started to lose her balance. Bodhivian looked back and saw this.

"Bail out bail out!" He called.

It was too late, she wiped out.

"Adora!" Bodhivian gasped.

He was worried because it had been a really nasty wipeout. She had disappeared under the water. He proned over and caught up to her as soon as she got her head above the water.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine...was a little scared for a moment but I'm fine." Adorabeezle grabbed her surfboard and got back on it.

"No Neptune Cocktail?" He asked.

"No." Adorabeezle smiled, having learned lots of surfing terms from him before.

Bodhivian was relieved.

"Let's try that again." Adorabeezle grinned.

"Chaa, let's go." Bodhivian nodded.

They did surf again...but Adorabeezle kept wiping out quickly. Finally on the fourth try she did get a Neptune Cocktail. That is she got quite a bit of seawater in her.

"Okay, come on it's okay." Bodhivian helped her onto the beach.

Adorabeezle obviously felt very sick.

"Okay, now you have to sell a buick to get it out." Bodhivian said gently.

Adorabeezle did. That is she managed to throw up. After doing so she felt a bit better.

"Okay, no more surfing for you today." Bodhivian said seriously but caringly. "I just want you to lie down on your blanket and rest for the rest of the day."

Luckily they had brought basic beach gear with them.

"Oh man..." Adorabeezle groaned.

"I know, Neptune Cocktails can be an uber bummer." Bodhivian agreed.

They rested until it was nighttime, and then headed back. They decided to just water-ski the next day and did. The day after that Adorabeezle wanted to try surfing again. She did but kept wiping out badly. Fortunately this time she did not get a Neptune Cocktail, but by the end of the day she was frustrated. The same thing happened the following day.

"That's it, I quit!" She said, in tears, as she went back onto the beach.

She sat down on her blanket and sobbed. Bodhivian went over, sat down on his blanket, and rubbed her back.

"It's okay, not everyone is good at surfing." Bodhivian said gently.

"No it's not okay!" Adorabeezle cried. "I...I really like you Bodhi, and I wanted to be good at surfing so that I could surf with you but I'm a failure. Oh you must think I'm a dweeb..."

"No, I don't think you're a dweeb, kook, or anything like that." Bodhivian shook his head. "I think you're cool in your own way. After all you're...you're not the only one who's failed at something."

Adorabeezle calmed down and looked at him.

"You too?" She guessed.

"Chaa...inland sports. At least the ones that use balls." Bodhivian finally admitted. "I've been wanting to try them ever since I first watched Stormberry play beach volleyball. She was so good at it that I wanted to play as well...but every time we went to the beach I'd head immediately for the surf. Or rent water-skis if the waves weren't surf-worthy. Anyway, when Swizzle and Adam offered to teach me and Stormberry how to play ball sports I was excited to learn and couldn't wait. But then...but then I kept failing at them. Swizzle and Adam were sympathetic about it, but even so I was embarrassed. Especially since Stormberry became good at them. I later gave up not long before you asked me to hang out."

"How come you didn't tell me before?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Because I was ashamed...until today." Bodhivian smiled. "After watching you fail at surfing I realized that no one can be righteous at everything. And I also realized that failing at something doesn't make anyone a loser as long as they really tried to be good at it. You failing at surfing didn't make you a loser in my eyes after all, actually I'm proud of you for continuing to try even after that bummer of a first day."

Adorabeezle smiled at him, feeling a lot better.

"How about we just stick with both skiing and water-skiing? With a little snowboarding on the side?" She suggested.

"Sounds off the wall to me." Bodhivian grinned.

So that's what they did. They also let Adamec and Swizzle teach them how to ski and snowboard better.


	10. Game Central Station and Practicing

The following Sunday Vanellope decided that it was time the new characters got a feel of Game Central Station. So, as a group, they all went out to explore the place. They were allowed to visit almost all the games too, with Hero's Duty being among the few that were off limits (for obvious reasons).

"You want to check out Sonic's game Matlow?" Candlehead smiled.

"Sure." Matlow smiled back.

They went inside and enjoyed watching Sonic race as well as talking to Tails and a few of the other characters. Sonic and Dr. Eggman also gave them a demonstration of part of what went on in their game. This turned out to be a mistake, when Dr. Eggman tried to hit Sonic with one of his drills Sonic automatically rolled out of the way. The drill hit a rocky wall instead and caused rocks to crumble off.

"Look out!" Dr. Eggman called.

One of the rocks was rolling towards Matlow!

"Matlow!" Candlehead gasped, knocking him out of the way without thinking.

The rock continued on... Sonic had stopped rolling around this point.

"Oh no!" Sonic gasped.

He and Dr. Eggman ran to Candlehead and Matlow...and relaxed, Candlehead and Matlow were fine.

"Candlehead..." Matlow stared at Candlehead, who was pretty much hugging him. "Are you crazy you...you could've been killed."

"So what? I don't care what happens to me as long as my friends don't get hurt." Candlehead looked at him upset, tears in her eyes.

He realized that she had been more scared of him dying than of herself dying.

"I'm so sorry...I was the one who wanted to go into this game and..." Candlehead sobbed.

"It's not your fault, it was an accident." Matlow said comfortingly.

"Actually it's our faults." Dr. Eggman said apologetically.

"Yeah, we got so into gameplay mode that we forgot about you two being from another game." Sonic was obviously upset with himself. "I shouldn't have rolled out of the way, I mean at least I would've been able to regenerate."

"But I should've stopped the drill before..." Dr. Eggman added.

"Enough." Matlow said. "No one is hurt and it was an accident so I say we just drop the subject. How about we visit a calmer game Candlehead? Like Fix-It-Felix Jr or PacMan?"

"Okay." Candlehead started to feel better.

"We're coming too, we want to meet the other new racers." Dr. Eggman smiled.

And they left...none of them knowing that someone had seen the whole thing. Someone who wasn't really supposed to be in the game.

Things went better for the other Racers and future Racers. Sourward of course was still hesitant about making new friends but he had least managed to be polite. Bodhivian however got annoyed pretty quickly because he called all the other characters Judith or Bennie (the male equivalent to Judith) and all the other characters kept misunderstanding. Fortunately when Sonic came out Ralph got the idea to ask him to explain the terms Judith and Bennie through the PSA so that Bodhivian wouldn't have to repeat himself again. Sonic did and Bodhivian was very grateful.

Crumbelina also got a surprise: Graham did not introduce himself as her boyfriend. Instead he introduced himself as someone who loved her very much. Crumbelina couldn't help but blush at that, and was grateful that he respected her feelings enough to not call himself her boyfriend. That was when she realized that he hadn't tricked her into dating him, he had tricked her into giving him a chance.

Now by this point you're probably wondering if the future Racers had learned how to race yet. Not yet, you see the future Racers didn't even know that they were going to become part of the game. Vanellope knew that something would happen that'd cause the vacationers to become citizens of Sugar Rush, so she was waiting for that to happen before teaching the future Racers how to race.

Bitalo of course was already a citizen, but he had admitted to Vanellope that he was scared of racing. He also told her that Torvald was still teaching him how to be brave about racing for real. Luckily the amusement park step was done, and Torvald said that there were just two steps left. The third step being him actually participating in a Roster Race of course.

As for the second step, Bitalo didn't find out until the next day. Torvald had borrowed Minty's kart (with Minty's permission, don't worry) for Bitalo to use. Yup, she was actually going to put him behind the wheel.

"Oh, you're going to teach me how to drive?" Bitalo guessed as he saw Minty's kart.

"More like...I'm going to teach you how to race." Torvald smiled as she pointed to her right.

Bitalo turned...and froze with terror. The practice track she was pointing to was scary looking, with a dark road, black licorice trees, candy corn rocks, and candy pumpkins with scary faces carved into them. There also were so many black licorice trees that it made the track look even darker.

"I don't think this is safe Torvald..." He said nervously.

"What's not safe about racing around a track?" Torvald retorted.

"When the track looks like a death trap from Satine's game." Bitalo gulped.

"Well I'm going and you could stay here, all alone, and watch." Torvald smirked.

Bitalo's eyes widened. There was no way he was staying there alone with all that creepy stuff near him!

"So we're driving along the track then?" He said awkwardly.

"Thought so." Torvald smiled. "Don't worry, it only looks scary because it's Halloween themed. This is where Gloyd used to practice-race, we each have our own special practice-track. However nowadays we'll use any old practice-track since we don't mind using each others."

"So why can't we use another track?" Bitalo asked.

"Because once you can handle this one you'll be ready to join in the Roster Race." Torvald said. "This track is going to help you race without letting anything distract you."

"Okay..." Bitalo sighed.

He reluctantly got into Minty's kart, and after a few instructions from Torvald they took off. Bitalo was distracted at first, and it was not just the forest either. It was also insecurity. As he kept nervously looking around he felt ashamed for letting harmless-yet-creepy things distract him and started to believe that he would never be good enough for Torvald.

Fortunately he never crashed, but he did go really slow. He was too scared to go any faster. So by the time Torvald did two laps he had done half of one. Luckily all the practice-tracks could fit two karts at a time on it.

"Bitalo stop." Torvald stopped close to him during her third lap.

Bitalo stopped the kart. Torvald got out of her kart and walked over to him.

"You have to go faster if you want to race." She tried to not sound as annoyed as she felt.

"I...I can't..." Bitalo hung his head.

"I know the forest is scary but nothing in it will harm you-"

"No, I really mean it. I just can't do it." Bitalo shed a tear.

Torvald was really annoyed and frustrated. After all the hard work she did and all the progress he made he was going to give up?

"Oh for the...look, why did you want to race anyway?" She frowned.

Bitalo shed a few more tears.

"Because...because I won't be good enough for you until I become a Racer." He admitted. "Because...I love you."

Torvald dropped her mouth open.

"You love me? How long?" She asked.

"Ever since we first talked...on that slope..." Bitalo was close to sobbing.

"I've really liked you since then too." Torvald smiled.

Bitalo turned to her, shocked. Now it was his turn to drop his mouth open.

"You...but why?" He asked.

"Because you're sweet, friendly...and you're brave when it counts." Torvald said. "Also you have a snarky sense of humor at times, which I actually find kinda amusing. Even if it doesn't look like I find it amusing. 'Golden grim reaper', heh, that was actually witty of you."

Bitalo smiled a little despite still being confused.

"But what about my not being a Racer?" He asked.

"I don't care whether you're a Racer or not, I like you for you." Torvald shrugged. "Besides, true Racers only race for the fun of it and because they love racing. No other reason. So if you love racing and find it fun, then you can do it. No matter what place you come in."

Bitalo's smile was stronger now, and his confidence returned.

"Well, racing did look like fun to me...so what are we waiting for? Let's race!" He grinned.

"One moment." Torvald went closer to him with a playful smirk.

"What?" Bitalo asked.

Torvald kissed him. Bitalo froze, caught off-guard, but then smiled and returned the kiss. 8-bit hearts surrounded them. After they ended the kiss they just grinned at each other.

"You really are my golden grim reaper..." Bitalo sighed happily. "Because I feel like I just died and gone to heaven."

"I'm glad I'm your golden grim reaper." Torvald smiled back. "I don't want to be anyone else's. Now, how about we get back to racing?"

"You bet!" Bitalo suddenly recovered and then grinned teasingly. "Bet I can beat you this time."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that." Torvald laughed.

And this time they really did race. Bitalo didn't do too badly for his second time, in fact when compared to his first time he did more than good. He still was an amateur at it of course, and would be for a few weeks. But at least he now could race and enjoy it at the same time. And that was the most important detail.


	11. A Passionate Couple

Also Bitalo and Torvald dating spread through the kingdom, or country as Vanellope preferred. Everyone was happy for them, especially Minty and Sourward. Surprisingly Sourward was not resentful or jealous. He always knew his best friend deserved true love and was grateful that he finally found it. Sticky was happy for Torvald like Minty, except she was also sad. Being the romantic that she was she kept wishing that she could find someone like Minty and Torvald had. She didn't resent her sisters for being lucky in love, but she did feel lonely.

You see her feelings for Adamec had been growing stronger during the past few weeks until her feelings for Swizzle had completely gone away. And it wasn't because Adamec was bolder about stunts either. She had gotten to know Adamec personally and fell in love with his passion for life, his kindness and bravery, and how he cared about others. One example of it: sometimes Swizzle would fall down - even the best fall down now and then - and instead of completing the run Adamec would stop and go back to make sure that Swizzle was all right.

Sticky had been confused about her feelings at first. After all Swizzle was kinda the same as Adamec and vice-versa, so why had her feelings shifted? Was it because Swizzle had chose Minty and her heart decided to give up on him? Was Adamec just a replacement? Despite her confused feelings she couldn't help but daydream about ending up with Adamec, and she even made drawings and poems about it.

By August Torvald was the first to catch on. She had been walking to her room when she saw Sticky's door open. She only glanced, but had to double-take: Sticky was doing more drawings. Torvald, thinking they were of Sticky and Swizzle, sighed and decided to talk to her. Despite the door being open she slightly knocked on it. Torvald looked up, blushed, and brought the drawing she was working on to her chest so that Torvald couldn't see it.

"Sticky you really should let go of Swizzle." Torvald said sympathetically. "You know how much he loves Minty."

"I know." Sticky continued blushing. "I...it's not him."

"Really? You found someone else?" Torvald smiled and entered Sticky's room. "Who?"

"Adam." Sticky admitted as she let Torvald see her drawing.

It was of her and Adamec dancing.

"Ah." Torvald smiled. "Well have you told him?"

"Told who what?"

Torvald and Sticky looked and saw Minty at the doorway.

"Told Adam that I love him. And no I haven't." Sticky sighed.

"Well why not?" Minty smiled even though she was confused.

"Because I'm worried that I just love him as a replacement for Swizzle." Sticky said sadly.

"I doubt it, you never did drawings about yourself and Swizzle." Torvald remarked. "At least not that I know of."

"No...actually I didn't..." Sticky thought it over. "I never wrote poems either."

"You really are a romantic-" Minty snapped her fingers. "Of course, that's why you had a crush on Swizzle. He's romantic."

"Exactly." Sticky blushed again. "So I don't understand why my feelings switched over to Adam instead."

"Well from what I've seen Adam is more passionate about things than most other characters." Minty said. "Maybe even including...romance?"

Sticky looked up, starting to get it.

"Meaning he might even be more romantic than Swizzle...at least by my perspective." Sticky smiled. "Plus...plus he does care about others so much, and he's so brave and kind..." She then grinned feeling a lot better. "Maybe this time my feelings are real."

"I think so, and you should tell him before he ends up liking someone else." Torvald nodded. "Like what happened with Swizzle."

"Oh yeah." Sticky sighed. "I hope I can find the courage to ask him."

"How about we be there with you? Same with Swizzle and Bitalo." Minty suggested. "Then when he agrees we can go on a triple-date."

"Great idea." Torvald nodded.

"You really think he'll agree?" Sticky look hesitant.

"Well he never said anything about having a girlfriend." Minty shrugged before grinning. "In fact not long after he learned about me and Swizzle being a couple I overheard him admit to Swizzle that he was hoping he could find someone who was also passionate about certain things. And from what I've seen you can be passionate about certain things, especially romance. You're just more subtle about it."

"Well, I'll give it a try." Sticky smiled again, feeling a little confident though still scared.

The next day after the Roster Race and race training Sticky approached Adamec. Minty and Torvald followed with Swizzle and Bitalo respectively.

"Hi Adam." She said shyly.

"Hello Sticky." Adamec grinned, his sparkler turning pink. "I was actually just about to go over to you."

"You were?" Sticky blushed.

"Yes, I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight." Adamec smiled, his sparkler now turning red.

Sticky blushed heavily and her heart leapt into her throat.

"I...you..." She stammered.

"Uh, you can take that as a yes." Torvald translated. "She actually was about to ask you out."

"Really?" Adamec smiled happily, his sparkler flickering between red and orange.

Sticky couldn't help but smile back and she nodded.

"Awesome." Adamec grinned, his sparkler now flickering between red and blue . "Say, how about the six of us all go out tonight? It can be a triple-date."

"We were actually going to suggest the same thing." Minty grinned.

"All right!" Adamec punched a fist into the air, his sparkler now red and orange again. "I'll see you guys later tonight, I want to get ready first! Bye Sticky!" He ran off.

Sticky, still blushing, felt her legs buckle. Minty and Torvald rushed forward and caught her before she fell.

"He asked me out...he asked me out..." Sticky gasped. "He likes me?"

"Yeah, he does." Swizzle grinned.

The triplets and Bitalo stared at him.

"You knew?" Torvald was surprised.

"He confided in me that he had noticed Sticky watched us perform stunts admiringly instead of worriedly like most others." Swizzle explained. "He had never known any girl to watch stunts without fear before and he realized that Sticky has the moxie to handle watching stunts. He ended up really liking her back for it, and talked to me about her. I told him to go ahead and ask her out since I like the idea of him being with her. And since I view Sticky as a sister that's saying a lot."

"Thank you Swizzle." Minty went over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Yes thank you...but what if something goes wrong?" Sticky said nervously.

"Oh what could go wrong?" Torvald scoffed.

Sticky's eyes widened.

"Torvald!" Minty said warningly before turning to Sticky. "Nothing will go wrong, look the four of us will be there to back you up okay? He likes you and you like him back and that's what counts. Just be yourself, and if things don't work out then he wasn't the one for you anyway. But I'm sure he is." She smiled.

Sticky smiled back weakly.

"Okay..." She said.

"Now come on, let's get you ready." Minty went back to Sticky and hugged her.

"I'm gonna go get ready too, see you gals later." Swizzle said.

"Ditto." Bitalo agreed.

The triplets said their 'see you later's as Swizzle and Bitalo left. Sticky trailed behind a bit, still nervous.

"So why did you give me the brush-off earlier?" Torvald asked Minty quietly.

"Never ask someone what can go wrong if they're really nervous." Minty whispered. "It makes them think about what can go wrong and then they end up coming up with a worst-case scenario."

"Oh."

They then went back home to get themselves ready. Basically they were just going to clean themselves up - racing can get messy after all - and make sure they looked nice. Torvald, being a tomboy, was done first. She only made sure that her clothes and hair weren't messy. Minty and Sticky were more feminine, so they were taking a bit longer. Not too long though, they were ready with time to spare. Then they discussed if they should do anything special.

"Well I think I'm all set." Torvald shrugged.

"What about accessories? Sticky and I are going to bring our best purses." Minty said.

"I don't have purses remember? I do have a nice-looking shoulder bag though, I guess I'll bring that." Torvald shrugged.

"Now...should we do make-up or no make-up? I meant me and Sticky." Minty added as she saw Torvald open her mouth.

Torvald shut it.

"You've dated Swizzle lots of times without make-up so I don't think it's necessary." She noted.

"Good point. What about you Sticky?"

Sticky just sat worriedly on the bed.

"Come on Sticky, everything will be fine." Minty sat down next to her and put an arm around her comfortingly.

"But what if he ends up not liking me?" Sticky sighed.

"What's not to like? You're kind, romantic, and care about others." Torvald shrugged.

"How about we do a little make-up? It could help boost your confidence." Minty smiled.

"Well...okay." Sticky smiled back.

And Minty helped Sticky put on a little make-up. Torvald stayed out of it due to knowing nothing about make-up.

Minty didn't overdo it of course, instead she did a little bit that brought out Sticky's natural beauty. Minty gave her a light mint-green eyeshadow and a lip gloss that matched the salmon in her clothing.

"There." Minty smiled.

"Say, you're pretty good with that." Torvald remarked.

"Thanks...want me to do you?" Minty grinned.

"Are you nuts?" Torvald frowned.

"No, I'm mints and candied apples." Minty snickered.

"Hardy-har-har." Torvald rolled her eyes.

Sticky, meanwhile, looked at herself in the mirror.

"I look beautiful." She actually smiled.

"Duh, come on we're all good looking." Torvald turned and grinned. "We're the Tasty Triplets."

"I hope you're not going to make that our official nickname." Minty frowned.

"What's wrong with it?"

"How about the fact that we're candy people?"

"Uh, yeah, it's a pun."

"Well I don't know about you but I'd rather not remind the other game characters that we're candy people."

"Wha-oh for...do you seriously think any of them would ever try to eat us?"

"No, it's just the thought isn't exactly pleasant."

"True...okay okay I won't make that our official nickname."

"Thank you." Minty said with relief.

"You're welcome." Torvald said dryly.

Sticky giggled at this friendly argument. Torvald and Minty ended up laughing as well.

Now as for the guys, they too were just making sure that they looked clean. However they were also getting gifts for their girls. Swizzle, not surprisingly, was getting a rose for Minty. Bitalo knew that Torvald was a tomboy, so instead of a romantic flower he just got one that he knew would look good with her outfit: a sunflower. Adamec however had something else in mind...

Later that night, Swizzle, Bitalo, and Adamec went together to the Zakis' house to pick the girls up. See the Recolors had different last names to help them stand out more, kinda like how celebrities had second names. Citrusella was the only Recolor who kept the family name, Jubileena instead picked a different last name to respect the fact that Citrusella is better at racing than she is.

"Hey guys." Torvald opened the door, grinning. "We're ready to go."

She and Minty came out first and greeted Bitalo and Swizzle. They also liked the flowers they got (unsurprisingly). Sticky then shyly came out.

"Wow..." Adamec smiled, his sparkler turning a bright red. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Sticky blushed.

"These are for you." Adamec gave her...a small bouquet of wildflowers.

Sticky blushed even more.

"You...you actually took the trouble to...?" She stammered.

"Of course, I wanted to give you something more colorful...like you." Adamec put a hand under her chin.

Sticky smiled and hugged him. He hugged her back for a little more than a few seconds. Sticky then quickly went back inside to put most of the flowers in a vase, saving the prettiest one to wear.

The six of them then went out to eat. They all chatted during the meal and had a great time. Sticky found herself falling even more in love with Adamec.

Then, at the end of the date, Torvald and Minty held their boyfriends back as Adamec continued walking Sticky to the door.

"I had a wonderful time." Sticky smiled.

"Same here." Adamec smiled back. "I have never known anyone as passionate as you. I mean when you talk about something, you really express your feelings about it. I like that."

"Sometimes, other times I can be a bit shy." Sticky admitted.

"Nothing wrong with that. I can tell you're passionate on the inside and that's what matters."

"Thank you...Adam I..." Sticky took a deep breath. "I love you. I love your passion and how you care so much about others. I also love how you always try to enjoy life to the fullest."

Adamec just smiled...and kissed her. Sticky tensed up a bit, mostly because she didn't expect that reaction. Then she found her heart speeding up and relaxed. She started to return the kiss, until they were now kissing as one. 8-bit hearts surrounded them...and they started to kiss a little more passionately.

At the end of the kiss they both just gazed at each other, lovestruck.

"Wow..." Sticky sighed.

"Obviously, I love you too." Adamec smiled, his sparkler very red. "I have known a lot of girls in the past, but none of them were even close to being like you."

Swizzle and Bitalo said their goodbyes to Minty and Torvald, and left. Minty and Torvald then went inside...while Adamec and Sticky continued to gaze at each other. Minty and Torvald hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and shrugged. They decided to let the new couple recover before suggesting that Sticky should go to bed.

Turns out they didn't need to. After Adamec and Sticky recovered Sticky kissed Adamec on the cheek and promised to see him tomorrow. She then headed inside, giving him one last smile before closing the door. Adamec grinned and danced away happily.


	12. Vacationers Become Citizens

It was now the middle of August, and Vanellope had made a special announcement: the parents of the future Racers ended up feeling at home in Sugar Rush and had decided to move in.

Obviously the future Racers were really happy. They liked their new life in Sugar Rush and would've missed it and their new friends if they had gone back. Adamec was one of the happiest and not because of his being passionate either. It was because he knew he would've missed Swizzle and Sticky painfully if he had left.

Pepsino, Matlow, and Bodhivian were relieved along with happy. They didn't have much of a social life back home (except for a few surfing buddies in Bodhivian's case) and so had been dreading going back. Graham also was relieved, knowing that he would've been almost heartbroken if he had to leave Crumbelina. Crumbelina, on the other hand, was disappointed. She still didn't love him back and had been looking forward to calling off their relationship on account of a long-distance between them.

The other original Racers however were obviously very happy and relieved.

Citrusella and Sourward were the only ones not happy. Citrusella of course was happy for the other Racers, but had started to grow fond of Sourward and was going to miss him. There were only about a couple weeks left. Sourward didn't want to admit it, but he too realized that he was going to miss Citrusella when he left. That and he was also going to really miss Bitalo.

But then the next day, after the arcade closed, Sourward got a surprise: his parents had called the Honeyway home to reveal that they were on the train coming into Sugar Rush. Sourward was the one who answered the phone and they told him to meet them at the station. He asked why, but they only said that they'd explain once they'd arrive. He agreed to meet them and left to do so.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Sourward said nervously, thinking that they were going to take him home early.

"Well, after hearing about the good time you've had here we wanted to see the place for ourselves." Mr. Lemonscan smiled.

Sourward relaxed.

"Yeah, it's been okay." He nodded. "At least I can trust the people here."

"What about this Citrusella person?" Mrs. Lemonscan asked.

"Oh, her. Uh...still not ready to think of her as a friend but I have been appreciating her kindness and sympathy." Sourward admitted.

"We have been too, especially since she's been able to make you feel a little better." Mr. Lemonscan kneeled down and put a hand on Sourward's shoulder. "We also have been thinking that maybe going home wouldn't be a good idea. You still need Bitalo's friendship, and I think Limepool still has too many bad memories."

Sourward looked down slightly.

"It does." He admitted.

"I understand and your father does too, which is why we've decided that maybe moving here would be best." Mrs. Lemonscan smiled.

Sourward looked surprised...and maybe a little happy.

"Move here? But what about the factory?" He asked.

"The factory is just a building, family is more important." Mr. Lemonscan smiled. "And you're family too Sourward, you mean more to us than any old building. I mean literally old. Sure it's been passed down throughout the family, but who says it has to stay in the family? We can just open a new factory somewhere here...maybe even a better one."

Sourward this time did smile, and he hugged his father.

"Now, can you please direct us to the castle? We want to talk to President Vanellope about this." Mrs. Lemonscan said.

"Of course...thank you. Thank you both." Sourward smiled.

He led them to the castle and introduced them to Vanellope. He then left to find Bitalo while his parents talked things over with Vanellope.

It turns out Bitalo was at his bee farm showing Torvald his bees.

"They're cute little guys." Torvald smiled.

"Yeah, they're also friendly." Bitalo smiled. "Comes from being raised by my family, they got used enough to humans to not sting unless the humans really are threatening. Like trying to swat them or something."

"Well I never will." Torvald smiled.

"Bitalo!" Sourward ran up to him; the bees swarmed him. "Okay okay, I'm happy to see you guys too. Buzz off will ya?"

He made a few buzzing noises as he gently flicked his fingers, and the bees flew away. Torvald chuckled.

"They got really used to me too..." He shrugged. "Oh, hi Torvald... Bitalo great news, my parents decided to move down here and open a new factory."

"Hey that's wonderful!" Bitalo smiled. "Now we won't have to be separated. But where's the factory going to be?"

"My parents are talking it over with President Vanellope right now." Sourward explained.

Bitalo and Torvald just smiled.

"Sourward?"

Sourward turned around and saw Citrusella there.

"I've been looking for you...I know there's still about a couple weeks left before you leave but-" She said sadly.

"I'm not going to leave after all, my parents just decided to move down here and start a new factory." Sourward actually smiled.

Citrusella beamed, and hugged Sourward without thinking.

"I'm so glad...I would've really miss you if you had left." She said.

"I..." Sourward didn't know what to say at first, all he knew was that he was starting to enjoy the feeling of Citrusella being near him...and her hugs.

He then got a surprise...some of the pain in his heart had gone away. He looked at Citrusella, and thought about how kind and sympathetic she had been to him. He then realized: her friendship was strong enough to partially heal his heart. Tears formed in his eyes.

"I would've really missed you too..." He admitted. "I...I'm glad you decided to become my friend."

Bitalo, Torvald, and Citrusella looked at him with surprise. Citrusella then smiled happily at him. Bitalo and Torvald did too, Bitalo mostly. He was more than glad that his friend was finally starting to heal.

Now, around this time new homes for the new citizens were being built. Felix was helping Ralph,Vanellope, and Candiel oversee that part, same with the new factory (which was going to be built close, but not too close, to the Kart Bakery). Vanellope also took on another task: teaching the future Racers - minus Bitalo, who already knew thanks to Torvald - how to race. She held lessons at the end of every Roster Race, and the future Racers started to pick it up. It even looked as if they'd be ready to join the roster - which had been enlarged recently - in September. Of course before she taught racing she had the other original Racers help the future Racers bake their own karts

The parents all liked the idea of their kids becoming Racers and joining the game...though Mr. and Mrs. Smartietz hesitated at first. They wanted Matlow to become a famous scientist or something like that. However, Matlow was so interested in racing that his parents gave in, deciding that it could be a temporary career until he decided on a better one. After all with all the other Racers there the gamers wouldn't miss just one right? Of course little did they know that Matlow had gotten so into racing that he decided to make it his permanent career. Science was just going to be a hobby from now on.

Speaking of September, that month meant school for most of the gamers...and for the kid citizens of Sugar Rush. Even the Racers went to school so that they could learn other things. Since racing was their 'career' their grades and such weren't considered as important. For them, learning was for fun and to build up their smarts rather than prepare for their future.

The way the school system in Sugar Rush was this: every day for most of the citizens, and three hours every Sunday for the Racers and the audience (or at least the kid versions of the audience). Since time was slower for game characters three hours to them was like about six hours to us, which wasn't too bad a length. As for how long each semester lasted it was simply this for the Racers: September to November, and then again from February to May. The others had it slightly longer: September to middle December and early January into May.

The classes were simple too: science, math, history (Sugar Rush history that is), and literature, plus two electives. Those who wanted to learn more complicated subjects merely moved to cities after graduation to attend colleges. They also had PE, but it was more for recreation than anything else. As for the electives most of the students, especially the Racers, picked baking and one personal elective. For example along with baking Candlehead picked arts and crafts. In Vanellope's case she also took up mechanics so that she could learn enough to fix her own kart and help her dad fix his just as her mother had done. She did know quite a bit about mechanics before the reset, but only enough to make pedal karts instead of real ones.


	13. Change of Hearts

Anyway, the future Racers also ended up going to the school and being new they had to pick their electives. They all picked baking, wanting to be with the original Racers, and each one picked something else that interested them. Pepsino obviously took dancing with Snowanna...and also had something else planned.

He went up to her after the arcade closed the day before the first school day.

"Hi, I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me tonight. I have a surprise for you." He smiled.

"Sure." Snowanna grinned.

He led her to a secluded place in his kart, with her following in her kart. They stopped at a pretty hill in the park, and he got out of his kart with a boombox and a picnic basket. Snowanna followed him and watched as he spread out the blanket and set some food down.

"Picnic dinner, nice surprise." Snowanna smiled.

"Actually this is just in case we get hungry." Pepsino smiled. "This is the surprise."

He turned on the boombox, and beautiful classical music started to play.

"Not bad music, but you can't really dance to it." Snowanna shrugged.

"Actually you can...just not in the way you're used to." Pepsino took her hand. "Along with the energetic dances I also know how to slow dance. And to thank you for helping me overcome my shyness and stage fright I'm going to teach you how to slow dance."

"Really? Not my thing but I wouldn't mind learning a few steps." Snowanna smiled.

"I think you might enjoy it, it's a good way to continue dancing if you get too tired to dance your way." Pepsino took her other hand.

He then put one of her hands on his shoulder before putting his hand around her waist. He continued to hold on to her other hand and slowly started to lead. Snowanna started to follow, and after a few minutes they both flowed into a waltz. After Snowanna grew more comfortable and even seemed to be enjoying herself Pepsino added spins and a few other moves. They continued to slow dance for a while until the music was over.

Pepsino then finished by dipping Snowanna gently...and froze. He had never noticed how pretty her eyes really were before. They were like purple flowers really, cool and happy. Snowanna froze too, she had never noticed how warm Pepsino's eyes were before. They were kinda like melted milk chocolate, sweet and tempting. Both their hearts started to beat a little faster, and they couldn't look away from each other. Swept up in their new feelings, they closed the gap between them and kissed. 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

Everyone found out about the new relationship in school the next day. Especially since Pepsino and Snowanna couldn't hide their feelings even if they wanted to. The Racers, original and new, were happy for them.

The following day, after the arcade closed, Crumbelina had decided to go shopping for some new school clothes and so headed for her favorite clothing store. Despite Graham working there she couldn't stay away from the store.

Luckily this time Graham was helping a different customer, so she was able to get help from a different employee much to her relief. She grabbed a few items and tried to pick out the best ones. The employee also brought out other selections that were similar to what Crumbelina wanted. However none of the clothes pleased her, and the employee was starting to grow frustrated. Finally she asked him politely to go into the back and see if there was anything else.

The employee did, cursing to himself along the way. Then when he went into the back he started complaining for real.

"I am really sick and tired of her coming in here all the time!" He kicked a few boxes. "Of all the picky, self-possessed..."

"Now calmer calmer Tam." Graham said, also in the back (his previous customer already left). "She is not so bad."

"Oh you don't know what she's really like." Tam frowned (for those who don't get it: his theme is Hot Tamale). "I pity any guy who dates her."

"Hey, I'm dating her and I think she's a merveilleuse femme." Graham frowned.

"You're tougher than her previous boyfriends then." Tam shook his head. "See Crumbelina has a really domineering personality, bossy even. She always has to have things just so and even tried to change her previous boyfriends. They dumped her big time because of it. Trust me Graham, give up on her and find someone more gentle."

Crumbelina, looking for Tam, overheard him talking to Graham in the back. Upset, she started to shed tears and ended up running out of the store.

"That's what you think of her? Well sure she has high standards for herself but she is more than that." Graham frowned. "She is kind, generous, and doesn't become smitten with just any guy. She is the first one I ever met who wasn't affected by my accent. Plus she's confident, she knows what she wants and works hard to get it. Bottom line is: I love her. I love her more than anything and I don't care what other people think."

Graham then left...and saw that Crumbelina was gone. He went to another employee.

"Excusez-moi, but did Crumbelina already make her purchase?" He asked.

"No, instead she ran out looking upset." The employee shrugged.

"Merci." Graham left the store as well.

He realized that Crumbelina had overheard Tam and had been hurt. He figured that she had ran home so he ran over to her house.

When he got there he rang the doorbell. Mr Di Caramello opened it.

"Hello Graham, if you're looking for Crumbelina she's in her bedroom..." Mr. Di Caramello looked surprised. "Did you just come here from work?"

"Oui, an employee told me about her being bossy and I think she overheard." Graham nodded. "So I came her to cheer her up."

"So that's why she seemed so upset..." Mr. Di Caramello realized. "Thank you Graham, you really are a good guy for her."

"Merci." Graham smiled before entering the house.

He then went upstairs into her bedroom and found her crying on her bed. You see she had been dumped so many times that she had gotten scared that Graham was going to dump her again. Even though she didn't love him she just couldn't handle being dumped again, especially since it kept getting more painful each time.

Graham suddenly almost walked into a poodle. The poodle sniffed Graham and wagged her tail.

"Bon chien." Graham petted the poodle a little before going closer to Crumbelina.

Crumbelina stopped crying, somewhat, and looked up to see Graham standing in front of her.

"Graham...you knew I overheard..." She realized.

"Oui." Graham nodded. "Don't let what Tam said get to you, he-"

"No it's not that, it's just..." Crumbelina wiped an eye. "It was you finding out about me being domineering. My past boyfriends...when they found out...they dumped me and...it always hurt." She hung her head. "I just can't be dumped again, by anyone. My heart won't be able to take it."

"I am not going to dump you." Graham sat down next to her. "I can't, I love you too much. These previous boyfriends...they just weren't worthy of you."

"Weren't worthy of me? The opposite actually." Crumbelina scoffed. "They were lords and dukes, and even a few princes. They originally had come to court Vanellope, but she turned them down. First it was because she's a president and wasn't interested, and then it was because she had already chosen Ralph. After each noble gave up I approached them and asked them out. They agreed, but none of them lasted long. If a noble doesn't want to be with me then why would a peasant want to be with me?"

"Because nobles are often shallow and so are only interested in princesses or at least wealthy women." Graham said. "I however just want someone who could love me accent or no accent."

"What are you talking about?"

"Back home all the dames would flirt with me just because of my accent, because of my French background. They just wanted to be courted by a French gentleman. I did enjoy the attention at first, but grew tired of it quickly. I wanted someone who would love me for me and not care about my being French. Later things even got to the point where I wanted a challenge, someone I would actually have to impress." He then smiled. "And that's where you come in. You weren't affected by my accent at all, and you treated me like a person rather than someone who might give them a romantic life forever. You also had more going on in your head than most of the girls I previously knew. You knew what you wanted to do and were doing it, you wanted to work hard to get yourself a good future rather than just marry into one. And then when you turned down my first offer of a date I realized that I had found my challenge. And I completely lost mon coeur to you forever. You are mon défi and I love you for that among many other things. Je t'aime so much that I want you in my life forever. In fact je t'aime more than my own life."

Crumbelina just turned her head away.

"You don't believe me, le faites vous?" Graham realized.

Crumbelina shook her head. Graham originally had kept most of his physical affection at bay due to knowing that she didn't love him back, but now he decided to prove his love to her physically.

"Maybe this will convince you that I am telling the truth." Graham said gently as he turned her head around.

Crumbelina looked at him confusedly...and he kissed her before she could react. She froze, shocked by his boldness. She almost became mad that he had taken advantage of her upset state...but then she started to feel his love. She tried to fight it but she couldn't deny it: his love for her really was strong and true. She now knew that he was telling the truth: he will never dump her, because he really did love her too much to do so. She also found herself starting to feel a little light-headed, and started to feel her heart beating a little faster. She panicked inwardly, realizing that Graham's love was causing her to love him back. She tried to fight it, tried to not fall in love with him, but she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster.

He then ended the kiss and smiled gently at her.

"You believe me now?" He asked.

Crumbelina, speechless from the kiss, could only nod.

"Bonne..." He said with relief. "I will leave you alone to recover now. See you plus tard mon belle princesse."

Crumbelina blushed, realizing that Graham thought of her as a princess. Graham left and Crumbelina collapsed onto her bed, mentally cursing her heart for falling for him.

She ended up spending a couple days trying to fight off her newfound love for Graham. She had recovered enough to join in the Roster Races though, so no one really caught on to the fact that she had a mental conflict. Her heart loved Graham but her head kept telling her to forget him and continue looking for someone from a noble family.

Another Roster Race began. Things went normally at first...until Citrusella found out that her steering wasn't working. She kept trying it but it was no use, so she then tried to hit the brakes. The brakes weren't working either, so she quickly honked her horn to warn the other Racers to get out of the way. Since she honked the horns desperately the Racers in front of her looked around and saw her scared face. They decided to pull over so that she wouldn't be able to crash into anyone. She ended up zooming past them and off the track. Sourward, who was behind her, followed her without thinking.

Citrusella kept crashing into plants and swerving/spinning around until she had crashed against a boulder. Fortunately the only damage was to her kart...and the boulder. The top of the boulder had broken off and was falling towards her! She screamed, but at that moment Sourward caught up to her and pulled her out of the way in time. The rock landed on her kart, crushing it, but Citrusella was safe. She hugged her savior at first before glancing up to see Sourward looking at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" He said, actually sounding a little scared.

"I-I think so...but...I had never...my kart I..." Citrusella shivered.

"Yeah that was weird...we'd better take it to the mechanic later to see what went wrong." Sourward rubbed her back comfortingly.

Citrusella then looked at where the rock landed. Realizing what a close call she had she started crying.

"Citrusella?" Sourward said concernedly.

Jubileena showed up in her kart.

"Citrusella!" She gasped.

She ran over to them and hugged Citrusella. Kinda hugged Sourward too.

"Thank you for saving her." Jubileena said to Sourward. "I mean she would've regenerated but still..."

"Yeah...oh yeah." Sourward realized that he had forgotten about the regeneration detail, hence why he was scared earlier. "Well, I'm just glad she's okay."

"Same here, at least physically." Jubileena said sympathetically, seeing Citrusella still crying. "She's one of the best Racers here, a lot better than me anyway, and she had never crashed on her own before."

"Never?" Sourward couldn't help but be impressed.

"No...I think it'll take her a while to recover from this." Jubileena then turned towards the wreckage.

The other Racers showed up as well. Ralph did too.

"What happened?" Vanellope asked, really upset that one of her friends almost got badly hurt.

"I think something went wrong with her kart." Jubileena explained. "I don't know what though."

Ralph took the boulder off the kart and examined it.

"Well, lot's of things are wrong with it now that's for sure." He remarked. "I'll carry it to the mechanic so he can look it over and see why she crashed."

And that's what he did, with Vanellope thanking Ralph just before he left.

The other Racers, seeing that Citrusella was okay physically, decided to finish the race and give her some air. Only Jubileena and Sourward stayed behind.

Sourward was relieved that Citrusella hadn't been killed, regeneration or not...and then wondered where that thought came from. This caused him to also wonder why he had been so scared in the first place. After all she would've regenerated anyway, it's not like he almost lost her. Then...then he realized that he was still a bit scared. He couldn't understand why, Citrusella was safe now so there was nothing to scared of. He tried to shrug off his fear but couldn't. Even though he had completely calmed down there was still some fear in him. He looked down at Citrusella's sobbing form, and felt his heart twist painfully a little. That was when he got it: he had also been scared of her getting hurt. And now he was upset that she had been hurt emotionally. He just wanted to make her feel better again, to make her able to get behind the wheel again. He wanted to protect her from getting hurt again...he also wanted her to stay in his arms...he felt warm near her...his heart, despite it still hurting, started to beat a little faster...

" _Oh no...I didn't...I couldn't..._ " He was shocked, it just couldn't be true.

But it was. He had fallen in love with Citrusella.

He couldn't figure out why. He thought he'd never love again, he thought his heart would never recover enough to beat fast for anyone else ever again. Then again his heart hadn't really beat that fast for Thembara, it mostly pounded, but that was beside the point. The point was that he had somehow recovered enough to fall in love again. He got mad at himself at first for being so foolish...

But then he thought about Citrusella. She was sincerely kind and sweet towards him...even after he went too far at rejecting her friendship she was still easily convinced to not give up on him. She stuck by him this whole time, no matter how angry or resentful he became. She went through the trouble to make things for him even if he hadn't accepted her gifts at first. She even shed tears for him when she learned about Thembara, she felt that sorry for him. If...if she wouldn't give up on him even when he was at his worst, then maybe...

No. Not again. He was not going to let his heart be broken again. He will never let love back into his life ever again.

After Citrusella had calmed down somewhat, Sourward walked her and Jubileena back to their home.

"Would you like to come in and help comfort Citrusella?" Jubileena asked as they neared the door. "I think she'd appreciate that."

"I'd...like to but...I think I'd best be getting home." Sourward hesitated. "Factories take longer than houses to build and...I want to see how things are coming along."

"Okay." Jubileena was confused about his hesitation but let him go.

Sourward left, and Jubileena thought things over. Sourward had actually warmed up to two other Racers besides Citrusella: Torvald because of her dating Bitalo...and herself because she's Citrusella's sister. So if he had warmed up to her and was close with Citrusella then why had he hesitated coming inside? More importantly, why had he hesitated continuing to comfort Citrusella? Jubileena just couldn't figure it out...until the possibility of his having fallen in love with Citrusella and being scared about it popped into her head. She shook that thought away, there was no way Sourward would've recovered that much this fast. From what he had told her Thembara had broken his heart so much that it was impossible for him to love now (after accepting Citrusella as a friend Sourward was able to open up to Jubileena enough to admit his past to her).

Jubileena decided to let go of the subject and focus her attention on making Citrusella feel better.

The next day the mechanic arrived with Citrusella's kart, brand new. It turns out she had been concentrating so much on trying to make Sourward feel better that she forgot to give her kart it's monthly tune-up a few days ago. After having repaired her kart overnight the mechanic said that it was good as new.

"Here that Citrusella? You can race again." Jubileena smiled.

"No I can't." Citrusella hung her head. "I can never race again."

Jubileena's smile faded. She realized that the crash traumatized Citrusella so much that it made her scared to race. In fact Citrusella was still so badly affected by the crash that she ended up spending the rest of the day in her bedroom. Jubileena stayed home to comfort her sister, fortunately not being on the Roster anyway.

After the arcade closed Jubileena decided to leave to find Sourward, maybe he'd be more willing to help Citrusella feel better now. Maybe he had only been shaken up last night as well and now had recovered from it.

"Sourward, there you are." Jubileena said with relief after quite a bit of time of searching.

"Is Citrusella okay?" Sourward asked, having been worried about her all day.

"No, she's now too scared to race again." Jubileena admitted. "Her kart's as good as new but...but she stayed in her room almost all day. I think she's sick with fear."

Sourward now looked worried.

"Take me to her." He said.

Jubileena nodded and led the way back to her house. She then led him into Citrusella's bedroom.

Sourward had been trying to deny his feelings, but today he couldn't. He could hide them, but he couldn't deny them. And seeing Citrusella emotionally broken up on her bed confirmed it: he really did love her. He knew because seeing her like that nearly broke his heart all over again.

"Citrusella?" He said.

Citrusella turned and saw Sourward. She got off her bed and ran over to hug him tightly.

"Sourward..." She sobbed.

He hugged her back as she continued sobbing. They ended up staying like that for a little over an hour.

It pained Sourward to see Citrusella this way. If only there was something he could do...then he got an idea. Maybe if he could get her confidence back she would go back to her old self.

"Citrusella, I know you're still scared but you're one of the best Racers." He said. "You can't give it up."

"But that's just it, I'm not. A good Racer wouldn't neglect her kart and let it malfunction on her." Citrusella sobbed.

"Even the best make mistakes. I did, after all, back in Limepool..." Sourward sighed bitterly; he then snapped out of it and went back to comforting her. "I know you can do it, racing...racing is in your code."

Citrusella pulled away from him and walked away.

"I can't, I just..." She collapsed and cried on her bed.

"I should go." Sourward hung his head and walked away.

Jubileena frowned and went over to Citrusella.

"Look sis, I know you had quite a scare yesterday but if you don't get over it now then you might never race again." Jubileena said. "I am not going to let that happen to you, especially since you are a better racer than I am. If anyone should give up racing it's me!"

Citrusella stopped crying and looked at Jubileena with shock.

"No...no you can't. Not after how hard you've been practicing." Citrusella shook her head.

"Well if you give up racing then I'm going to give it up too." Jubileena crossed her arms. "You mean more to me than racing anyway. I just can't race without you sis, it'd feel wrong. I know you can do it too, Sourward is right about racing being in your code."

Citrusella hung her head and thought it over. She really was scared...but deep down she didn't want to give up racing. She then looked back up and saw that Sourward had left. She left her bedroom and ran down the stairs...where she saw Sourward hesitating at the front door. Sourward turned around and pointed to the doorknob.

"Nutsy wouldn't let me leave." He explained.

Sure enough Citrusella's pet flying squirrel Nutsy was on the doorknob.

"Because he doesn't want you to leave...and neither do I." Citrusella continued going downstairs until she was in Sourward's arms. "Please stay, if it hadn't been for you...I mean I know I would've regenerated but..."

Sourward actually smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere." He reassured her. "Please Citrusella, let me help you...like you helped me."

Citrusella now smiled.

"Okay." She gave in.

Sourward hugged her again, and she hugged him back.

Speaking of 'change of hearts', Crumbelina was still trying to fight her feelings for Graham. She was lying on her bed the day after Citrusella's crash. Her pet poodle Tira was there too, unsurprisingly. Dogs after all always knew when their owners were feeling bad.

"How could I have fallen in love with him Tira?" She groaned. "He doesn't come from a noble family, not even a wealthy one! I know that shouldn't be important...but to me it is. I mean if I do give in to my feelings, then I'll definitely never end up with even a lord let alone a prince."

Tira actually growled a little.

"Tira, I taught you better than that." Crumbelina frowned, sitting up.

Tira glared at Crumbelina and put a paw over her heart. Crumbelina looked at Tira with shock.

"You're...you're actually telling me to listen to my heart on this?" She couldn't believe it.

Tira nodded. Even though she was a fashionable poodle she still had quite a few brains underneath her topknot. She was able to make smart choices, and in this case she knew that Graham was Crumbelina's smart choice. She knew that Graham unconditionally loved her owner, and that her owner loved Graham more than she realized.

Crumbelina shook her head and looked away. She thought back to all the times she had hung out with Graham...which led to her remembering what Henreesa had said about noble titles and noble hearts. Tears formed in her eyes as she started to realize how much she really did love Graham.

"I've been a fool." She said to herself before rushing out the door.

Tira just smiled knowingly.

Crumbelina ran through Sugar Rush until she found Graham outside her dad's Italian restaurant. He was having some tiramisu and...looked very sad.

"Is there room for me?" Crumbelina asked.

Graham looked up, startled, and turned to find Crumbelina standing next to him.

"Crumbelina...you came to me?" He sounded surprised. "I thought I lost my friendship with you after I...you know... I know it was wrong of me, but you were so miserable and I wanted to convince you that-"

Crumbelina raised her hand.

"You didn't lose my friendship Graham, I had just been conflicted for a long time." She explained. "My brain still wanted someone with a noble title but...my heart wants you."

Graham dropped his fork and stood up.

"Tu...tu m'aimes?" He asked. "You love me?"

Crumbelina nodded. Graham beamed and hugged her. She hugged him back.

"Your love is so strong and true that it...it made me love you back." Crumbelina explained. "I couldn't help it."

"Ma amour...Ma seul amour..." Graham said happily, sounding as if he was going to cry.

They pulled apart a little, and gazed into each other's eyes. They then slowly kissed. 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

After the kiss Crumbelina joined him for some tiramisu. They then spent the rest of the day together, finally happy and in love. When they separated later that night to go to bed, they kissed again...only this time Graham introduced Crumbelina to the French kiss. He started off slowly, just in case she wasn't ready, but she was. She returned the kiss quickly, until they both were kissing passionately.

When the other original Racers found out they were relieved and happy. They had been hoping that someday Crumbelina would wise up and forget about looking for a guy with a noble title. The new Racers were only happy, not having really known about Crumbelina's previous preference in guys.

By the next day Crumbelina was comfortable enough with her love for Graham to act as if she had always loved him, but she still had one problem with him: his outfit. At the time he was wearing red pants and a red shirt with a green and white swirled pine tree (think of those Christmas tree lollipops), green shoes, a green jacket with walnut colored buttons, and a white hat with a red brim.

"Graham, we have to talk." She said at the end of the day.

"Of course mon amour." Graham smiled. "What is it?"

"Your outfit, you have to change it." Crumbelina looked it over.

"Change it? Why?" Graham said.

"It doesn't fit the high standards I've set for myself."

"But this is my favorite outfit."

"I understand, but I'm going to go up in the world and I want my beau to look the part." She smiled flirtingly.

"Look, if you don't like the way I dress-" Graham ignored her flirting, looking annoyed.

"Oh no your outfit is fine, at least festive if nothing else, it just isn't stylish enough."

"But-"

"Please? At least consider it compensation for having tricked me into dating you in the first place." Crumbelina smirked. "You do owe me for that."

Graham winced. He knew she had a point.

"Okay..." He gave in. "What would you have me wear?"

"First of all those pants have to go." Crumbelina looked him over. "You need pure-white, not pearl-white, colored pants with a pine green stitch. That hat should be a red fedora with an emerald brim and a cream-white band. Loose the jacket. The shirt-"

"Ma grand-mère gave me this shirt!" Graham interrupted, offended.

"Unless you're dating your grandmother you're changing that shirt!" Crumbelina retorted before going back to the task at hand: "You need a red long sleeve dress shirt with a deep green vest, and if you're a good boy I'll embroider that pattern on your vest in white."

Graham groaned. Crumbelina then lifted a leg of his pants to see his socks. They were red and green striped. She sighed.

"I have a lot of work to do." She shook her head.

"Mère de programmeur." Graham grumbled.

"I understood that my sly amour." Crumbelina smirked.

Graham winced again.

"Okay, fine, but changing my outfit will be my only payment for tricking you oui?"

"Don't worry, it's only your outfit I want to change." Crumbelina chuckled. "I love everything else about you."

"And can I at least please keep the shirt my grand-mère gave me even if I can't wear it?" Graham pleaded.

"Well of course you can." Crumbelina laughed. "I said 'change' the shirt, not replace it! You can wear it on family outings, I just want you to look more fashionable around me that's all."

Graham smiled, relieved.

"Well, you do deserve to have a beau who looks as grande classe as you." He admitted.

"I don't know a lot of French, but I think you just complimented me." Crumbelina snuggled up to him.

"But of course." Graham nearly whispered, tracing her cheek with his thumb.

Crumbelina then kissed him on the cheek, and they gazed at each other for a while.

Crumbelina ended up spending the rest of the month putting together Graham's new outfit. Surprisingly she didn't let him be with her whenever she was working on it. He figured that she liked to shop alone, but what he didn't know was that she had a different idea for getting his new outfit...


	14. Updates

Now that Graham and Crumbelina had finally connected, let us see what the other new friendships and new couples were up to.

Not much with Bitalo and Torvald, they were just dating as usual. Torvald also got into learning how to be a beekeeper, having always liked honey. Their relationship was sweet, though not without it's snarky side.

Adamec and Sticky were also dating as usual, and Sticky was still swept away by Adamec's passion. Adamec in turn was on fire around Sticky. It was easy to see that those two had a permanent flame going on in their hearts.

Also Adamec and Swizzle were still like brothers, and were still best friends with Bodhivian.

Bodhivian and Adorabeezle grew closer each day, bonded by their love of snowboarding along with both kinds of skiing. They also got so used to each other's slang (Adorabeezle sometimes used skier slang, though not that often) that they didn't need anything translated anymore.

Pepsino and Snowanna were still dancing partners and romantic partners, and every time they went through town together their walk seemed like a dance of it's own.

Matlow and Candlehead felt their friendship becoming stronger each day. The days when he found her annoying had become nothing but a hazy memory, and now he couldn't imagine a life without her. Matlow also developed better social skills thanks to his friendship with Candlehead, and this was a good thing. Before her friendship he often sounded obnoxious without meaning too, especially when he shared a bit of information. But now he merely stated facts and info without sounding superior.

Nougestia and Charleston were just as close as ever, and very grateful for their friendship. They had introduced each other to so many wonderful things, and shared lots of laughs and great times together.

Mazie and Henreesa also continued to grow closer, and became closer to Madison and Applelo as well. Henreesa and Applelo especially, due to their shared lack of interest in feminine things. Madison's friends Ayda, Skyler, and Kerri also became part of the group despite not being that close to Applelo, Mazie, or Henreesa.

But it was Applelo and Madison who were really becoming close. They had been hanging out enjoying nature and farming and horseback riding so much that they were almost inseparable. Which made it doubly good that Mazie found a friend in Henreesa, Applelo had started to spend a little more time with Madison than with her. Mazie didn't resent him for it though, she already knew that moving to a new area would give him lots of new friends and so had prepared herself to expect him to not have as much time for her as he used to. Now she was just glad that she also had Henreesa to hang out with. Besides, the four of them hung out together most of the time anyway.

Then one day the group had decided to take a horseback ride (Henreesa had also learned how thanks to Mazie) to a tall hill to watch the sunset. During the sunset Applelo glanced at Madison and thought about how beautiful her yellow hair looked in the light of the sunset. He also thought about how her eyes were like the sky...and then snapped out of it. He was surprised that he had those thoughts, until he realized that he had fallen in love with Madison. He just smiled and went back to enjoying the sunset, planning to tell her his feelings just after dropping her off outside the exit. He wasn't scared or anything because he had never felt this way about anyone before. In fact before meeting Madison he hadn't even been interested in dating before. So, his having fallen in love with her had to mean something special.

Madison, after Applelo had turned back to the sunset, looked at him for a moment. She had already started to realize that she was developing feelings for him in the past and so was wondering about her feelings. Could Applelo be the one, or was her feelings just a reaction to his having shown her true nature before? She decided to ignore the nature detail and think about his personality. After realizing that she loved his lack of prejudism and how he was always kind and helpful she also realized that she loved him for real. Now there was just one thing left worrying her: her parents.

At the end of the day, Applelo dropped Madison off at the exit. Well kinda, he didn't drive her or anything. But he did see her to the exit with them both on horseback. Applelo was on Pielan of course, while Madison was on her strawberry-roan again. She had grown so fond of the mare that she had saved her money and bought her, though she still had to stay in Sugar Rush. Fortunately Applelo's parents didn't mind keeping her on their farm, so things worked out. Madison had named her mare Smoothie.

After stopping Smoothie and Pielan, Applelo and Madison said their goodbyes and Madison dismounted.

"Madison I...there's somethin' I have to tell you." He said.

"What is it?" Madison asked.

Applelo dismounted.

"Before comin' here I had never been interested in datin' at all...but then I met you." Applelo rubbed the back of his head. "I had never met anyone like you before. You're fun, kind, and love nature so much...plus you're not all frilly like some other girls. What I'm tryin' to say is...I love you."

Madison hesitated for a moment.

"Applelo I...I love you too but..." She hesitated again.

"Your parents." Applelo said knowingly.

"Exactly." Madison nodded weakly. "I've been loving Sugar Rush more than my own game, so much so that...that I want to move here. I'm just part of the scenery in my game anyway, but there are still problems. How my parents will react, and the fact that I can't regenerate in Sugar Rush... I'm so scared...what if my wanting to be in Sugar Rush...my wanting to be with you...makes them disappointed in me. What if they...hate me? And even if they don't I'll never be able to convince them to move..."

"True parents never hate their children no matter what." Applelo shook his head. "I know they don't like nature, but I'm sure they love you more. Just try talkin' to them, see how they react. If they react positively then we'll talk to Vanellope about makin' you part of the game. If they react negatively...well, we'll just see how things go from there."

"I guess you're right...thank you." Madison smiled.

Madison had to kneel down slightly - her game was a little more realistic when compared to Sugar Rush, so she had the typical height of a preteen instead of a chibi look - but she and Applelo still had their first kiss. 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

Back in her game, she confided in her city friends about her new feelings for Applelo and her fears about her parents and not being able to regenerate in Sugar Rush. Her friends loved the idea of her having Applelo for a boyfriend, so their only problem was the fact that Madison can't regenerate in Sugar Rush. And in that case it was just because they were scared of losing her. As for her parents...Ayda and Skyler weren't sure what to do about that. Kerri however, having known Madison since kindergarten, gave her blunt advice:

"Tell them the truth, including why you never told them about Sugar Rush before, and add that nothing will make you stop loving Applelo."

"Are you sure?" Madison asked.

"Madison, your parents may hate nature but they could never hate a nature lover." Kerri put a hand on her shoulder. "Have you forgotten that despite never letting you have a pet they still let me bring Jimmy over to play?"

"That is true...we just never brought Maria Lopez over because she hates traveling." Ayda nodded.

Maria Lopez was Ayda and Skyler's pet cat. She was an interesting cat too, due to having been raised by both Ayda and Skyler she had been influenced by both of them as well. Thanks to Skyler's upbringing Maria Lopez liked wearing fashionable collars, and thanks to Ayda's upbringing she liked to fetch.

"Well..." Madison hesitated at first but then remembered how much she loves Sugar Rush and Applelo. "Okay, I'll give it a try."

"You can do it." Skyler smiled.

Once she got home, she went to her parents Mr. and Mrs. Moore. They were on the couch watching the news.

"Mom, dad, we need to have a talk." She said.

"Sure dear, what is it?" Mrs. Moore turned off the TV.

Madison went over and sat down in a chair next to the couch.

"I'm not the girl you think I am." She said. "I...I love nature."

Her parents dropped their mouths open.

"My whole life I've loved nature, ever since I saw those documentaries on TV." Madison continued. "When I got older and had Kerri, Ayda, and Skyler for friends I started going to places like the zoo and arboretum, trying to get in as much nature experience as possible. Also I...I hate the city. I don't want to live here anymore."

Her parents froze for a moment.

"Why...why didn't you tell us this before?" Mr. Moore asked.

"Because...I was afraid that you'd be disappointed in me." Madison hung her head a little. "That...that you'd hate me."

"We could never hate you Madison." Mrs. Moore said. "We are surprised that you like nature, but we're not disappointed in you. I am disappointed...but in us, for making you feel that you had to hide who you are to make us like you."

"Same here." Mr. Moore said. "Still can't understand why you like nature though..."

"Look, you two have been remembering the bad parts for so long that you've forgotten the good." Madison frowned. "Don't you remember what it was like to smell a flower? To hear birds sing? To watch squirrels romp and play? To look through a forest and see all the beauty it had to offer?"

Her parents looked down slightly.

"I...I did kinda forget..." Mrs. Moore admitted.

"So..." Mr. Moore hesitated. "Why did you decide to tell us the truth now? What changed?"

"I...I've fallen in love with a farmer named Applelo." Madison smiled, blushing a little. "He's from Sugar Rush...where I've been going the last three months or so. Sugar Rush is so beautiful, and Applelo is so kind and helpful. He's been helping me experience nature more, he even taught me how to ride a horse!" She now grinned but then looked sad. "And...and I want to move into his game. I want to be closer to him."

"Well, I'm afraid we can't approve of this." Mrs. Moore shook her head.

Madison opened her mouth to protest-

"But it's not because this Applelo fellow is a farmer." Mr. Moore cut in. "It's because he's from a different game. You know you can't regenerate in other games and...and we don't want to lose you."

Madison closed her mouth. She knew her parents had a point.

"But if there was a way to allow me to regenerate in the game...?" She asked hopefully.

"Then we'll consider moving into Sugar Rush." Mrs. Moore smiled. "We do owe you for having unintentionally deprived you of something you love, and if you truly love Applelo then you should be with him. However since you are still a minor you can't be without your parents. So if you can find a way for all three of us to be able to regenerate in Sugar Rush then I think we can handle moving there."

"We still would like to see the place though, but as long as we're surrounded mostly by buildings I think we'll be fine." Mr. Moore added.

"Thank you thank you!" Madison went over and hugged her parents. "This means so much to me...tomorrow I'll ask President Vanellope - she's the ruler of Sugar Rush - about becoming part of her game. Maybe she can think of something."

"Very well, and we'll go with you to see what this game is like." Mrs. Moore smiled.

"It's not like we're important members of this game anyway." Mr. Moore chuckled.

So the next day, after the arcade closed, Madison and her parents went to see President Vanellope near the race track.

"Well, always glad to have new citizens here but you're right the regeneration thing is a problem..." She thought it over and then remembered something. "Hold on...Ralph and Felix added Q*Bert and his friends into their game and they seem to be able to regenerate...I never did ask them about that..."

At that moment Ralph and Felix showed up.

"Oh good, perfect timing." Vanellope smiled and went over to them; she kissed Ralph before asking: "How did you guys make Q*Bert and his friends part of your game? Madison here wants to join Sugar Rush."

"It was Q*Bert mostly." Felix explained. "It turns out your code can compact and become part of you when you take it out of the Code Room. Q*Bert and his friends did that with their codes not long before their original game was unplugged, having learned how to safely do so from Surge Protector. Then when Ralph invited them to be part of our game Q*Bert instructed me on how to safely install his code and his friends' codes into our Code Room. Once you enter a Code Room the codes come back full size."

"Surge Protector couldn't because he can't enter games." Ralph added. "He has to stay in Game Central Station in case any problems occur."

"You mean...?" Madison beamed.

Ralph and Felix nodded, smiling. Madison was really happy, and so was Applelo, having been there at the time.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore were then given a slight tour of Sugar Rush. They both had to admit that the place was beautiful, and after they talked to Applelo for a while they ended up liking him a lot. They decided to move in, much to Madison and Applelo's delight.

They then left to see Q*Bert, who agreed to help them unplug and replug codes safely. Felix of course had to translate, but Madison and her parents managed to remove their codes without any problems. Then once the codes were removed and taken out of Sweet Scavenge's Code Room they shrank down and became part of their owners. After plugging them into Sugar Rush, Vanellope left with Madison and her parents to see about getting a home built for them. Luckily with Felix around it didn't take too long, so Madison and her parents were able to move in the same day. Kerri, Skyler, and Ayda were going to miss having Madison nearby, but were happy for her and knew that she had made the right choice. Besides, they could still visit Sugar Rush a lot.

Applelo and Madison weren't the only couple to realize their feelings and admit them in a short time either. Bodhivian and Adorabeezle had become so close that they too had started to fall in love. Between middle September and the end of September they had realized their feelings enough to know that they had to tell the other. Especially since their feelings were strong.

"Adora?" Bodhivian said as they headed for the ice cream mountains. "Can we stop for a sec?"

"What is it Bodhi?" Adorabeezle smiled.

"I...I'm fambo for you." Bodhivian admitted.

"Fambo?" Adorabeezle had never heard that word before.

"It...it means 'crazy in love'." Bodhivian explained.

Adorabeezle went back to smiling.

"I'm fambo for you too." She said.

Bodhivian now smiled, and they hugged.

"This is unbelievable...I mean a skier and a surfer...in love." Adorabeezle chuckled. "Talk about 'opposites attract'."

"Well, skier or not you are a radical friend and cool and sweet...not to mention a bodacious doe." He smiled.

Adorabeezle blushed, flattered.

"You're a bodacious stag yourself." She smiled back. "Plus you're also cool and very kind."

Bodhivian now blushed a little.

They continued smiling at each other until...they kissed. 8-bit hearts surrounded them. Later on Stormberry, Nougestia, Swizzle, and Adamec found out and were very happy for them.

Now, you're probably wondering how things were progressing with Sourward and Citrusella, and how things were going with Graham's new outfit.

Well, with Sourward and Citrusella things were going slow. Citrusella was still scared but Sourward was helping her. He started her off by making her a passenger in a two-seater kart - which he had made specifically for this purpose - and then driving slowly. Then when she got comfortable and was no longer afraid with that speed he would speed the kart a little. This progressed until Citrusella was comfortable being a passenger in a racing kart.

After succeeding with that step Sourward moved onto the next one: having Citrusella get behind the wheel herself. They first begun with parked, until it looked as if Citrusella was longing to race again. Sourward then had her start the kart, and once she was comfortable with that he gently encouraged her to slowly increase her speed. She was still really scared every time she went a little faster, but as time went by her love of racing started to overcome her fear of crashing.

All this took the entire month too, and during that month Citrusella noticed a change in Sourward. He was using all his concentration for helping her overcome her fear, and seemed to have forgotten about his pain. Because of this Citrusella slowly started to see the real Sourward: a kind, generous, and helpful guy who was capable of strong love and of being more gentle than a fawn. She also realized that his name, Sourward, had been an ironic name instead of one that fit him. She felt even more sorry for him, knowing that his heart had been broken enough to destroy that side of him. She now was really grateful that she had been able to help him enough to repair that side of him, to bring it back enough for him to show it. And she found herself falling in love with that side.

She wasn't happy about it either. After all it wasn't like Sourward was going to recover enough to ever start dating again. This meant that her love would forever be unrequited. She would have to spend the rest of her life pining for his love even though she would never get it. And she couldn't stop herself from loving him either, his kindness and gentleness captured her heart and she couldn't get it back. She did try to fight it, but only succeeding at hiding it. Just when she thought she had gotten over her feelings Sourward would speak kindly or gently touch her, and her heart would skip a beat and then beat rapidly all over again.

Of course she didn't know that he actually did love her back. No one did. In fact Sourward hadn't even told Bitalo...and it was the first time he had ever kept a secret from Bitalo (not counting his family's recipes of course).

And as Bodhivian and Adorabeezle ended up together, Madison solved her problems, and Sourward helped Citrusella Crumbelina finished up Graham's new outfit.

Graham was annoyed with the changes, but he had to admit the outfit wasn't too bad. His pants were pure-white with a pine green stitch, his shirt was a long-sleeved red dress shirt, and his vest was a deep green. His new fedora wasn't bad either, it was red with an emerald brim and cream-white band.

"Now that's my high-class beau." Crumbelina smiled as he looked himself over in the mirror.

"Hm...it is not bad...I still wish you hadn't spent this much money on me." Graham shook his head. "This outfit must've been very coûteux."

"Oh I didn't pay more than I usually pay for my materials." Crumbelina shrugged.

"Material-" Graham's eyes widened. "Attendre...you mean...you mean you made this outfit yourself...just for moi?"

"Well yeah." Crumbelina shrugged modestly. "It was nothing really, I never had a chance to make clothes for boys before so I was glad for an opportunity-"

Graham suddenly hugged her. He then pulled away and Crumbelina saw how touched he was.

"This is now my favori équipement." He smiled. "I love it even more than my old outfit, because the beauté I love more than life itself made it for me."

Crumeblina blushed a little and smiled back.

"Oh wait, almost forgot...take off your shirt." Crumbelina pulled away.

"Huh...oh right." Graham remembered.

He gently took off his vest and then his shirt. He gave the shirt to Crumbelina who got to work embroidering the swirled pine tree design onto it in white.

"Merveilleux." Graham smiled once she was done.

He then put his shirt and vest back on and hugged himself.

"I feel as though you had stitched loved into this outfit." He sighed.

"Well, in a way I had." Crumbelina smiled. "I did make this outfit out of love for you after all."

Graham smiled back, and they kissed passionately.


	15. Halloween

It was October now. Citrusella had finally recovered enough to rejoin the Roster Races, much to everyone's relief. They also started to talk about what costumes they were going to wear to the Halloween party Vanellope was setting up.

October started to go normally, until another accident during a Roster Race happened.

A jawbreaker had broken loose from the ground and started rolling towards the track. Vanellope, in trying to avoid it, quickly glitched out of the way. Unfortunately, she didn't plan the distance properly and ended up in front of Torvald. This startled Torvald so much that she ended up crashing into Vanellope and they skidded to the edge of the canyon they were near! Vanellope's kart was now upside down with the front hanging off the edge, and Torvald's kart was pinned to Vanellope's on the driver's side.

"Sorry about that Torvald, are you ok-" Vanellope had just looked over the edge of the canyon. "Sweet mother of monkey milk!" She gasped.

Torvald looked over the edge too.

"Oh my programmer, we're gonna die!" She panicked.

"Torvald, you're supposed to be the brave one." Vanellope pointed out.

"Not when it comes to death!" Torvald started to sob a little. "Regeneration or not I don't want to die!"

"Torvald listen to me." Vanellope said sternly but reassuringly. "We'll make it out just fine, we just can't afford to panic."

Torvald started to calm down.

"Well what are we gonna do?" She asked. "I'm pinned between your car and my seat and your car is tilting on the edge."

"Well..."

"Torvald!"

"Mom!"

Startled, Torvald and Vanellope turned the best they could and saw Bitalo and Reneult stop their karts near them.

"We saw what happened, hang on we're gonna get you out of there." Bitalo explained.

"Be careful son." Vanellope said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Me get hurt? You're the one who's close to falling down a canyon." Reneult retorted as he started to lift his mom's kart a little.

"He has a point." Torvald nodded.

Reneult managed to lift Vanellope's kart enough to allow Bitalo to get Torvald out of her kart. Reneult then lowered Vanellope's kart in a way that allowed Bitalo to help Vanellope out. Reneult then was able to carefully move the karts so that they wouldn't fall. It wasn't as important as saving Torvald and Vanellope, but he knew how much his mom's kart meant to her.

"I'm so proud of you Reneult." Vanellope hugged him. "You're a hero just like your father."

Reneult looked flattered, obviously he had always admired Ralph and had been hoping to be like him despite being a Racer. Torvald, meanwhile, was giving Bitalo a big kiss.

Ralph and Candiel showed up in Candiel's kart. Candiel had it near the stands due to him, Vanellope, and Reneult having planned to have a family race soon after the Roster Race.

"Way to go son!" Ralph beamed. "I'm so proud of you."

Reneult just grinned.

"Are you okay Vanellope?" Ralph then asked.

"I'm fine." Vanellope grinned.

Candiel hugged her.

"For a moment I thought I was going to lose you." He said.

"Uh, daddy, I would've regenerated anyway." Vanellope pointed out.

"Even so..." Candiel then looked over to Reneult. "Way to go Chocolate Chip. You really do take after your father as well as your mother."

Reneult obviously was feeling great right now.

Vanellope and Torvald's karts were a little messed up, so Felix fixed them. It turns out he had been clinging to Ralph's back during the trip.

After Felix fixed the karts, they all drove to the finish line. The other Racers and citizens were all very happy to see Torvald and Vanellope alive and well and cheered Bitalo and Reneult. Sourward went over to Bitalo.

"Way to go buddy." Sourward grinned.

"Aw, it was nothing." Bitalo shrugged humbly. "I'm just glad Torvald and Vanellope are okay."

Stormberry went over to Reneult.

"That was amazing." She blushed a little.

"Oh it's nothing compared to what my dad can do." Reneult shrugged, still grinning from the praises. "He can break jawbreakers and smash through metal. I'm nowhere near that strong."

"Not your strength, your bravery." Stormberry shook her head, smiling. "I mean saving your mom like that...wow."

"Well...regeneration or not I couldn't let her die." He rubbed the back of his head. "My name's Reneult...but you probably already knew that. Stormberry right?"

"Right." Stormberry nodded. "Say, we never actually talked before have we?"

"My fault, I had been living with mostly female Racers almost all my life so when more guys arrived I wanted to become friends with them first." Reneult explained.

"Understandable."

They continued talking, sharing their interests. Stormberry wasn't into racing like Reneult, but she did love watching the races. What she really liked to do is go to the beach, park, or a pool. She loved playing beach volleyball, and also loved watching her bother Bodhivian surf. Like some girls she enjoyed shopping, but mostly for books and summer gear. Lately she also started to enjoy basketball. Reneult didn't mind the beach, but mostly preferred parks and pools. He liked swimming and playing certain sports and having picnics with his family. As for shopping he just liked shopping for books and toys. The conversation later switched from interests to family.

"So, do you have any pets?" Stormberry asked.

"Nah, mom's only interested in getting horses and I haven't found the right pet yet." Reneult shrugged. "We haven't got a horse yet because her mom, my grandma, used to own them before she died giving birth to mom. Grandpa hasn't recovered from her death yet."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Stormberry said sympathetically.

"Same here. I also wish I could've known grandma but both mom and grandpa said that she knows me through heaven and loves me so that's good enough. What pets do you have?"

"We have two pets. Bodhi owns a tortoise named Bank. Friendly little guy but doesn't do much. I have a goldfish named Sunny, she's smart. She can leap and dive through hoops."

"Cool, I'd like to see that someday."

"How about a little later today? Bodhi and Adora have another date so it'll be just me and my parents anyway."

"Great!" Reneult grinned. "I'll see you then."

"You bet!" Stormberry grinned.

They then left to go back to their own families and talk to them. They wanted to tell their families about their new friend and get permission for the playdate they had just set up.

As the days passed Reneult and Stormberry ended up becoming best friends.

Later, near the end of October, Ralph visited Vanellope to discuss costumes for the Halloween party. Vanellope led him to their bedroom, where there were a couple boxes on the bed.

"I already came up with our costumes." Vanellope smiled.

She then opened them to reveal a bunch of black and four bolts.

"Frankenstien's monster and the Bride of Frankenstein." She grinned.

"I...I dunno Vanellope." Ralph frowned. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not? I think it's a great idea." Vanellope's smiled faded.

"Yeah but...I mean I was thinking more along the lines of couple of superheroes or..."

"But...but I already bought the costumes...okay I should've asked you first but..." Vanellope hung her head.

"I...I gotta go." Ralph left.

Vanellope fell onto her knees. She wasn't hurt from Ralph's reaction, instead she was upset for having hurt him. Even though it was always hard for him to state his feelings plainly - unless he was really feeling them - she still got that she had unintentionally offended him. She should've known that Ralph would never want to dress up as a monster, especially since he used to be thought of as one.

Ralph walked through Sugar Rush towards the costume shop, hoping that he could find better costumes. He saw Gloyd and Jubileena coming out of the shop as he neared it.

"Hi Ralph." Gloyd smiled.

"Hey, you two got your costumes?" Ralph smiled slightly.

"Yeah, can't tell you what they are though we want to surprise everyone at the party." Jubileena nodded. "What are you and Vanellope going as?"

"Well, Vanellope picked out Frankenstein's monster and his bride but...but I don't want to dress up as a monster." Ralph sighed.

"Ralph, he wasn't a real monster." Gloyd said. "He was just a misunderstood creature who people thought was a monster because he was different. But despite being different he wasn't evil or anything, he was actually nice...though a little like a newborn due to having been created recently."

"Really?" Ralph was surprised.

"Yeah."

"Oh...then maybe it's not a bad idea after all." Ralph smiled before heading back to the castle. "Thanks Gloyd."

"Anytime!" Gloyd waved after him.

Ralph headed back to the castle...meeting Vanellope at the front entrance. She was holding the boxes.

"Oh Ralph, I..." She hung her head again. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll return the costumes..."

"No it's okay." Ralph put a hand around her shoulder gently. "I wasn't hurt, I was just uncomfortable about the idea. I...I guess I had this foolish fear that dressing up as a monster would cause people to see me as one again. But then I ran into Gloyd and he told me that the monster wasn't a monster at all, he was a misunderstood creature."

"I know...that's why I got the idea in the first place." Vanellope looked up, smiling a little.

"Well, I've changed my mind: it's a great idea." Ralph smiled.

Vanellope beamed and kissed him. Later on she searched for Gloyd and thanked him for making Ralph feel better about the idea,

Halloween evening, everyone got into their costumes and prepared to head for the field where they usually had the parties.

Ralph and Vanellope had just finished getting into their costumes.

"Well don't you look handsome." Vanellope flirted teasingly.

"Yeah, looks like I gave you such a jolt that it affected your hair." Ralph teased back.

Vanellope gave him a playful punch on the arm. They then started to leave the castle with Reneult, who had decided to go as Frankenstein's monster Jr. Along the way to the front door they met up with Candiel...who was dressed as a scientist.

"Dr. Frankenstein right grandpa?" Reneult guessed.

"Exactly, thought I might as well complete the theme." Candiel chuckled.

"Very funny daddy." Vanellope smiled sarcastically.

"Yeah, really funny." A dry voice said.

They looked past Candiel and saw Sour Bill dressed up as Igor. They stared at him.

"King Candiel made me." Sour Bill crossed his arms defensively.

Vanellope, Ralph, and Reneult cracked up.

"Okay, now that is funny." Vanellope laughed.

Sour Bill stuck his tongue out at them.

They then left the castle.

"So how did grandpa get you to dress up as Igor?" Reneult asked.

"Don't ask." Sour Bill said bitterly.

"I used puppy-dog eyes on him." Candiel grinned.

"Sire!" Sour Bill protested as Vanellope laughed.

"So that's where Vanellope got it from." Ralph remarked.

"Huh, wonder if I inherited it." Reneult mused.

"Whether you did or not I'll teach you how to do it later." Vanellope smiled.

"Okay." Reneult smiled.

"Great, I'm gonna be outnumbered." Ralph muttered as Sour Bill groaned.

As they headed to the party they started to see what the other costumes were. First they met up with Felix and Tamora, who were Batman and Catwoman respectively. Luann was there too as Batgirl.

"Tammy's idea." Felix rubbed the back of his head, knowing that he looked very ironic. "I agreed on the condition that Tammy wouldn't use her whip on anyone."

"Heavy price, but I was willing to pay it just to see my man look dark and mysterious." Tamora smirked.

Felix honeyglowed.

After the rest of the guests arrived the party started. Everyone loved Gloyd and Jubileena's costume surprise: Jack Skellington (the pumpkin king version) and Sally, and their pets' costumes were good too. Gloyd's bat Hallo was there too unsurprisingly, and was wearing a white sheet, floppy ears, and a glowing nose to represent Zero. Jubileena brought her scarlet macaw Cheery, who was wearing a black outfit and black ears to represent the cat Sally petted at one point during the movie.

Swizzle and Minty were Aladdin and Jasmine (Swizzle went with Aladdin's 'street rat' look). They even did the extra step of dressing up Minty's labrador Caramel as Genie and Swizzle's beagle Hercules as Abu.

Rancis was dressed up in Elvis's gold outfit, and his German Shepherd Reese even wore a 1950s scarf. Taffyta was dressed up in a Poodle Power outfit. That is she wore an off-the-shoulder pink top with white dots, black leggings and high heels, and a pink scarf around her neck. Since it was dark she skipped wearing sunglasses and just wore pink cat-eye glasses instead. She didn't bring her tabby Arrow because Arrow liked to streak after people and grab them, which would've freaked out too many people and made it hard to enjoy the party.

Matlow and Candlehead were dressed up as an astronaut and a alien. Candlehead had also brought Sweetie and he too wore alien antennae. Candlehead didn't bring Clucka though, she wasn't much of a crowd chicken.

Bodhivian and Adorabeezle were dressed up as Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty, with Stormberry tagging along as Betsy Ross (it was Adorabeezle's idea unsurprisingly). Adorabeezle also brought her red-and-white husky Liberty, who was dressed up as an eagle. Bodhivian brought his tortoise Bank, who was wearing a cardboard star on his shell, but Stormberry decided to leave her goldfish Sunny at home. She didn't want to risk anything since it was easy to harm a fish, plus it would've been a pain carrying the bowl everywhere. Bank could be out of his cage so it was easy for Bodhivian to bring him.

Pepsino and Snowanna dressed up as disco dancers. Basically Snowanna looked the same, only she skipped the jacket and wore a top that revealed her middle. She didn't bring her corn snake Blizzard because it was chilly out and he hated cold weather. Pepsino didn't bring Mr. Fizz for the same reason.

Graham and Crumbelina were dressed up as a lord and lady unsurprisingly. Tira also looked very fancy with her golden collar, and Graham's St Bernard Nick wore a bowtie and monocle. Nick did love to play a lot, but he knew he had to act the part and so was on his best behavior.

Everyone also liked Sourward and Citrusella's costumes: Willy Wonka and Betty Crocker. Nutsy came along as a walnut (he wore a headpiece that looked like one). Sourward had a pet, a bunny named Mona, but she was scared of people (except for Sourward and his family and the Honeyways).

Bitalo and Torvald came as a bee and sunflower. Torvald was against the idea of dressing up as a flower at first, even if sunflowers were one of her favorites, but Bitalo talked her into it. Basically he said that sunflowers were cool and bright, just like her, and that was enough to convince her.

Charleston and Nougestia went as a WWII soldier and a nurse. Nougestia brought Marsha, her chinchilla, as well. Marsha also wore a nurse cap and was looking forward to the goodies (Sugar Rush animals were able to eat goodies and candies). Charleston brought his dalmatian Rin-Tin-Tin as an army dog. Basically Rin-Tin-Tin wore a soldier cap and vest.

Adamec and Sticky went as Eros and Psyche. Some others first thought Sticky was Aphrodite but she corrected them. She had brought her lovebirds Pongo and Perdita, who wore heart-shaped headbands on their heads, and Adamec brought his bearded dragon Sparky, who wore wings on his back to represent a cherub.

Applelo and Madison came as Lone Ranger and Tonto, and had also brought Pielan and Smoothie (who had moved in with Madison after she and her parents moved into Sugar Rush). They rode Pielan and Smoothie part of the way, and then dismounted and walked them the rest of the way.

Henreesa and Mazie came as a tiger and a doe, and were the only duo to not bring a single pet. Mazie didn't want to bring Bribon for obvious reasons, and Henreesa decided to leave Bosko at home to make Mazie feel better about not letting Bribon come to the party.

Madison's friends were there too. Ayda came as a baseball player, Skyler came as Cindy Crawford in a purple dress and pretended to model for everyone at one point, and Kerri came as Marilyn Monroe. She even quoted a few of Marilyn's famous quotes when appropriate.

Everyone had a wonderful time during the party, and was sorry when it was over. But then again they did have Christmas to look forward to. Plus it was getting close to the end of the fall semester for the students, which meant that special events were coming up...


	16. A Competition Complication

A.N. Now in this chapter a character never previously mentioned before in the movie or my stories will appear. Since I didn't know his backstory and personality that well Berserkeroo, who's more into arcade/video games than I am, helped me so I'd like to take this moment to thank her.

Two of them were an arts and crafts show and a science fair. Candlehead of course was in the show and Matlow had something prepared for the science fair. They couldn't wait to invite the other to their own event...

"Hey Matlow!" Candlehead grinned, finding him coming out of his science class; her art class had just finished as well.

"Candlehead!" Matlow grinned back. "Good timing, I was going to go get you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we've got a science fair coming up and I really want you to come."

"What a coincidence, I had come here to ask you to an event as well." Candlehead gave him a flyer. "My class is having an arts and crafts show."

Matlow read the flyer and his face fell.

"What's wrong?" Candlehead asked.

"Your arts and crafts show is the exact same date and time as the science fair." Matlow explained.

"What?" Candlehead looked very upset.

Matlow gave her the flyer for the science fair. She read it and was even more upset.

"Oh no...can't your class postpone the fair?" She asked.

"No, we need to have it in the gym so that there'll be room for all the projects and other classes want to use the gym later as well." Matlow shook his head. "That was the only day and time we could get. What about you guys, can't you have the show some other time?"

"No, some of my classmates are going to make delicate projects so they need to have the show as soon as possible to minimize the risk of them breaking before they can be judged."

"Well, then how about you skip the show and come to the fair?" Matlow suggested.

"I can't. Why don't you skip the fair and come to the show?"

"I can't either, my project is too important."

"Well so's mine."

"Candlehead your project is just arts and crafts, mine is science." Matlow frowned. "Science is more important."

"It is not!" Candlehead was offended. "I use my arts and crafts skills to help make good decorations and presents for parties!"

"Well science can help solve problems and answer questions, which is more important than any old party!"

"Hey! Parties are a way for people to have fun and make new friends!"

"Oh you and your fun, why don't you show more respect for education?"

"What education? You guys are just going to be making dumb stuff like fake volcanoes and seeing which plant grows the fastest!"

"We are not! Our projects are going to be better than a bunch of stupid stick figures!"

"Stick figures? You think we're in preschool or something?" Candlehead glared.

"Well you sure act like it!"

Candlehead gasped and drew back. Everyone else who was there, who had been watching the scene with interest, gasped as well. Candlehead started to shed tears as Matlow started to look regretful.

"Oh no...Candlehead I didn't mean...I was just..." He stammered.

"Oh shut up you bland old scientist!" Candlehead sobbed. "I don't want to ever see you again!"

Matlow now was hurt, especially since he had gained color ever since he and Candlehead became friends, and started to shed tears of his own.

"Fine!" He snapped.

They ran away from each other crying.

Candlehead and Matlow were no longer friends. They avoided each other as much as possible and never looked at each other again. They still worked on their projects, but now it was more out of pride than anything else.

Everyone caught on and tried to get them to swallow their pride and apologize to each other, but Candlehead and Matlow were stubborn. Vanellope especially tried to convince them, always hating to see her subjects upset, but not even Candlehead would listen to her.

"Candlehead you know friendship is more important than-" Vanellope tried to reason.

"Just leave me alone!" Candlehead snapped before storming off.

"I don't believe it, Candlehead always respected you before." Taffyta stared after her.

Vanellope watched Candlehead leave and shook her head sadly.

"I think Candlehead and Matlow lost more than friendship through that argument." She sighed.

"What else did they lose?" Rancis asked.

"Their ability to love." Vanellope shed a tear of sympathy. "They broke each other's hearts."

A short time passed and the day of both the arts and crafts show and the science fair came.

Candlehead just sat miserably by herself. She felt as though her project had been for nothing. She kept wondering why Matlow wouldn't leave his event to come to hers...and then she started to realize that she actually missed Matlow. She had gotten so used to having him around, having his friendship, that his not being there made her feel as if half of herself was missing. She started to feel bad for refusing to leave the show to come to the fair, especially since she didn't care about winning. However Matlow did care so much about science...and he could always see her project later... That was the real reason why she wanted him to come, she had made her project in honor of his friendship with her.

Close to the end of both the show and fair Candlehead realized that she had made a mistake. She should've just told Matlow that she had dedicated her project to him. She hadn't before because she didn't want to spoil the surprise, but if she had then maybe they wouldn't have lost their friendship. Maybe her heart wouldn't be broken right now.

She had to see him, she had to apologize. Leaving the show would disqualify her but she didn't care one bit, all she cared about was repairing her friendship with him. She now knew that Matlow would always be more important to her than any arts and crafts project.

"Mom, dad, I have to go." She said after rushing over to her parents Mr. and Mrs. Puckerbatter.

"But if you leave you'll be disqualified." Mrs. Puckerbatter pointed out.

"I don't care...I have to see Matlow." She admitted.

Mr. and Mrs. Puckerbatter smiled.

"Go ahead." Mr. Puckerbatter said.

Candlehead smiled slightly and left. She ran for the gym, pausing only at the doors to catch her breath. She then slowly opened the doors. Everyone was at the far end of the gym, applauding. Apparently the winner had just been announced. Candlehead headed for the group and tried to find Matlow...

Who it turns out was the winner. He was standing next to the judges, and his winning project was on the winner's table. There was a blue ribbon attached to Matlow's jacket. Candlehead put a hand to her mouth as she saw the title of his project: Why Sugar Rush Chocolate Does Not Stain Sugar Rush Clothing. Instantly her mind flashed back to when they had fallen into the chocolate puddle. To when...they had first become official friends.

"This is an astounding project my boy." One of the judges, who also was the principal, said proudly. "Not many students of your age had been able to do something like this."

"Thank you sir." Matlow said politely.

Those who weren't blinded by his amazing project and his win could instantly see that he didn't seem to be as proud as everyone else. Instead he seemed distant, hollow, as if a part of him was missing. Candlehead was the only one who saw this, and she realized that their argument had hurt him as much as it had hurt her.

"What inspired you to work on this particular subject?" Another judge, a visiting scientist, asked.

"An old friend." Matlow said almost sadly; no one noticed. "Back in my old hometown I didn't have any friends at all. I had been so into my studies that I never hung out with the other kids and didn't know how to have fun. But then when my parents and I visited Sugar Rush one person, a Racer, found out about my lack of friends and insisted on becoming my friend. She insisted on teaching me how to have fun. I found her annoying back then and so only let her teach me because I didn't know how to say no without hurting her feelings. Then one day we sledded and crashed into a chocolate puddle. I was so mad at first...but then I started laughing. I laughed and laughed and couldn't stop. I had finally learned how to let go and have fun, and I ended up seeing my new friend in a new light. She was no longer annoying, instead she was just very energetic. We left the puddle and I saw that the chocolate didn't stain our clothes at all. Anyway, we became best friends after that, so I made this project in honor of her. To thank her for teaching me how to have fun and for having been my friend. I do thank you for this honor, but I just wish she could be here right now."

Candlehead now felt even worse. No wonder he had wanted her to come so badly.

The judges and rest of the audience applauded again and started to leave. Now that the fair was over it was time to go home. The other students picked up their projects and started to leave with their parents. The judges left as well.

Matlow started to leave with his project, his parents following.

"We're so proud of you son." Mrs. Smartietz smiled.

"After seeing you make a project like that we know you're going to do big things in the future." Mr. Smartietz added. "You deserved to win."

"I didn't win." Matlow said sadly.

"Of course you did, you even got the blue ribbon." Mrs. Smartietz looked confused.

"This?" Matlow turned around and took the blue ribbon off. "This is just an empty victory. Sure I won at the science fair...but I failed at friendship."

He threw away his blue ribbon in a nearby trash can. His parents were very shocked.

"I made this project for Candlehead, to honor her friendship with me. Not to win or any other reason." He started to shed tears. "But now...now I've lost Candlehead's friendship forever." He started to sob. "She wanted me to come to her arts and crafts show, and I refused only because I was too scared of disappointing you guys. I got so scared that I ended up hurting her...I don't even deserve her friendship. I've finally learned what's really important and now it's too late..."

"It's not too late."

Startled, Matlow and his parents turned and saw Candlehead holding out his blue ribbon, which she had just taken out of the trash.

"Candlehead?" Matlow couldn't believe it. "You came?"

"Yes...because I realized almost too late that your friendship means more to me than any old arts and crafts project." Candlehead was close to tears as well. "You mean more to me than arts and crafts. I'm so sorry Matlow, I hadn't realized how much your project really meant to you. I should've come earlier, I mean could've shown you my project any time."

"I'm sorry too, especially for what I said." Matlow started to smile. "I never meant it, I just wasn't thinking."

"I didn't mean what I said either." Candlehead started to smile back.

"I should've never let my fear control me." Matlow wiped an eye.

"It's okay, I understand." Candlehead went a bit closer to him.

Matlow dropped his project, went closer to her, and they both hugged. They sobbed onto each other's shoulders, letting go of all the sadness and pain they had been feeling. Their hearts began to heal...and also started to form a connection to each other. Candlehead and Matlow didn't notice this, but they did notice that they felt complete in each other's arms.

"You hadn't lost my friendship, actually I'm really touched that you made it in honor of me." Candlehead smiled after they started to calm down; she then pinned the blue ribbon back onto Matlow. "You truly deserved to win."

"And I now finally feel like a winner." Matlow smiled back.

"Son?"

Matlow turned to his parents, who both looked as if they were feeling bad.

"We're sorry for having put so much pressure on you in the past." Mr. Smartietz apologized. "We hadn't realized how badly it's affected you. From now on we'll lay off."

"Really?" Matlow looked relieved.

"Yes." Mrs. Smartietz nodded. "We still want you to get good grades, but you don't have to get straight As anymore. And winning fairs and other things? It doesn't matter as long as you do your best."

Matlow went over and hugged his parents.

"Thank you...thank you so much." He said.

"You're welcome...and now go ahead and run along with Candlehead." Mr. Smartietz smiled. "We'll take your project home for you."

"Thank you..." Matlow said again before going back to Candlehead. "But what about your project?"

"Well, I'm sure I've been disqualified for leaving the room, but I don't care." Candlehead shrugged. "I never cared about winning, it just meant a lot to me for personal reasons."

"You..." Matlow was shocked and then touched that she had let herself be disqualified just for him. "What personal reasons?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Candlehead grinned, grabbing his hand.

Matlow felt a spark, but thought nothing of it. His mind was still on the fact that she let herself be disqualified just to see him.

Candlehead led him back to the arts and crafts show room. She then pointed to one project in particular.

Matlow dropped his mouth open. The project was of two hands joined together in friendship...and made out of Smarties. His candy theme.

"You...you made that in honor of our friendship didn't you?" He asked.

"Uh-huh...that's why I wanted you to come so badly...but I was wrong." Candlehead moved her hand to his shoulder. "I didn't care about winning at all, whereas you wanted to make your parents proud. Unlike your parents mine never cared whether I got perfect scores or not. They always just wanted me to do my best."

"It's too bad you were disqualified...you deserved to win." Matlow looked at her touched.

"It's okay, I feel like a winner anyway." She grinned. "After all we are friends again, and that's what's really important."

Matlow smiled...and then both he and Candlehead frowned with confusion upon hearing chuckling. They turned and saw Mr. and Mrs. Puckerbatter grinning.

"What's so funny?" Candlehead asked.

Mr. Puckerbatter just pointed to her project. Even more confused, Candlehead and Matlow went around the table...to see a blue ribbon on the other side of her project. She had won.

"What?" Candlehead gasped. "But I thought leaving the room disqualified me."

"It almost did...until your parents explained why you left." The judge smiled. "I made an exception this time because you proved the worth of your project by putting your friend before winning. You proved your strong friendship for the one you made your project in honor of. So, you won."

"I did...Matlow we both won." Candlehead grinned.

Matlow took her blue ribbon, which was in reach, and pinned it to her jacket.

"We both did...in more ways than one." He grinned back.

They hugged again, this time not sobbing.

Obviously everyone was relieved upon hearing that Candlehead and Matlow had repaired their friendship. Vanellope, Taffyta, and Rancis most of all. But Candlehead and Matlow had done more than repair their friendship, they had made it even stronger. And they never let anything harm their friendship ever again, though it was so strong now that almost nothing could harm it. In fact their friendship had become so strong that Candlehead had decided something...

"So Matlow, since we're best friends and all..." Candlehead said after he walked her back to her house. "So I think it's time I told you my real name."

"I thought Candlehead was your real name." Matlow was both surprised and confused.

"Nah it's a nickname, Vanellope and the other original Racers gave it to me when we were really little." Candlehead chuckled. "I kept it and decided to save my real name for my closest friends. The original Racers, my family, Ralph, Felix, and Tamora are the only ones at the moment who know my real name. Now it's your turn."

"I'm honored." Matlow smiled. "What is your real name?"

"Candela." Candlehead smiled.

"Candela...that's beautiful." Matlow grinned.

"Thanks." Candlehead blushed a little. "But again I save it for my closest friends so there are certain rules about calling me that."

"Let me guess: only when we're alone or near others who already know it?"

"You really are smart." Candlehead chuckled.

"And you are the funnest person I know." Matlow smiled.

Not long after that Matlow realized that he felt lonely at home. So, he decided to get a pet and Candlehead helped him pick one out. Matlow ended up getting a canary who was a really pretty singer. Matlow named her Melody and she ended up becoming a great source of company for him when he was reading or writing. Melody became attached to Matlow, and could only handle being away from him when she was in her cage. Otherwise whenever she flew out to explore she always stuck with Matlow. Even when they were outside she stayed on Matlow's shoulder or just flew near him.


	17. Another Broken Heart Heals But One Can't

A.N. Candlehead's full name, Candela Puckerbatter, was a headcanon that - as I recall - I read off Tumblr.

Now speaking of broken hearts...about a week or so after the arts and crafts show and science fair the Racers had just finished another Roster Race. Sourward was one of the ones who placed and Sourward's parents, Bitalo, and Citrusella were congratulating him...when something very unpleasant happened.

"So there you are." A female voice said.

Bitalo and Sourward's blood ran cold. A stabbing pain entered Sourward's heart.

"Oh no..." He whispered.

They turned and saw a pretty girl with blond curly hair, blue eyes, and expensive looking clothes. There was an expensive looking shoulder bag at her side.

"Thembara." Bitalo glared.

Everyone else there overheard and gasped. They had already learned about Sourward's history with her by this point.

Vanellope, Ralph, and Reneult each clenched a fist and went closer in case Sourward needed backup.

"What are you doing here?" Bitalo continued glaring.

"Looking for Sourward." Thembara said cooly; she then took some files out of her shoulder bag. "Here. We don't need these anymore, we already have altered versions in our computer at the factory." She sneered.

She then tossed the files at Sourward's feet, causing the papers to scatter a little.

"You and your parents actually moved here?" She laughed. "Unbelievable, I mean it's not like any of you deserve to live in a kingdom."

Sourward just knelt down and tried to neaten the papers, not wanting Thembara to see his tears.

"You're pathetic, a worthless-" Thembara continued.

"Shut up!"

Everyone gasped, shocked. It was because Citrusella, the shyest of the original Racers, had been the one who snapped that. Jubileena was the only one who wasn't shocked, instead she was impressed and proud of her sister.

"What did you say to me?" Thembara glared.

"I said shut up!" Citrusella yelled as she moved closer to Thembara. "How dare you speak that way to him! Who do you think you are, some goddess? Ha, you're nothing but a monster in expensive clothing!"

Sourward looked up, touched and impressed by Citrusella's words.

"Why you little brat!" Thembara glared back. "You-"

Sourward's tears disappeared. He was now angry.

"She's right!" He stood up, entirely forgetting about the files now, and moved closer to Thembara so that he could yell in her face. "You are a monster! I can't believe I ever loved you! You never deserved my love! You know what, keep those stupid altered recipes I don't care anymore! At least I finally found someone I truly love, but you'll spend the rest of your life unloved and miserable!"

"What?" Citrusella gasped.

Sourward froze, realizing what he had just said. He turned to Citrusella, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is...is it true?" She sounded happy yet beyond shocked.

Sourward sighed. He knew there was no turning back now...and he also realized that he loved Citrusella more than he had ever loved Thembara. He smiled gently.

"It's true." He confirmed. "I love you."

Citrusella beamed, tears in her eyes. She hugged him.

"I love you too." She said. "I thought you would never love me back..."

"I couldn't help it." Sourward hugged her back.

They then pulled away a little...and slowly kissed. 8-bit hearts surrounded them as Sourward felt his heart completely heal and become overfilled with love. Bitalo beamed at them, more than ecstatic that his friend had finally found the true love he deserves. However he still had one last thing left to do...

Thembara, who had been caught off-guard by Sourward yelling at her and insulting her, started to look really hurt. Bitalo then went over to her, causing her to look at him with fear.

"You know, I'm too kind and sweet to ever hurt a lady." Bitalo shrugged.

Thembara relaxed...and then Bitalo suddenly punched her, knocking her down.

"But you are no lady." He glared. "Get out!"

Thembara, crying, ran away.

"That's my honey!" Torvald cheered.

Yeah, Torvald started using 'honey' as her affectionate nickname for Bitalo. It was not only fitting but also allowed her to show her love for him without sounding too gushy.

After Citrusella and Sourward recovered from their love for each other, she started to help him pick up the files. Sourward instantly noticed that Citrusella tried to avoid seeing the recipes as much as possible, causing him to love her even more. He knew that Citrusella was respecting the fact that the recipes belonged to his family and were none of her business.

"I wish we could get your recipes out of the Sluggum factory computer." Citrusella admitted.

"It's okay, like I said I don't care anymore." Sourward smiled. "My parents got over the theft a long time ago, we had back-up copies anyway. My real problem had been my broken heart, had been thinking that I would never find true love. But then I met you. Your kindness, sweetness, and especially sincerity won me over. Your love...your love is true, I feel it. So as long as I have you I'll never need anything else. Not even my family's recipes out of Sluggum's computer."

Citrusella smiled shyly...though deep down still wanted to get his recipes out of that computer.

Sourward and Citrusella weren't the only ones in love either, Candlehead was starting to realize that she had fallen in love with Matlow. She never told anyone though, she didn't think she had a chance with Matlow. And even if she did...what if things didn't work out? She just couldn't risk losing his friendship again, not after what they had been through recently.

One day, near Thanksgiving, Candlehead was sitting by herself in Game Central Station. She had entered there long before anyone else due to not having been on the roster at the time. The arcade then closed and other game characters started to enter Game Central Station as well.

Sonic and Shadow were among the first, mostly because Sonic always left as soon as possible to get to where he did the PSAs about leaving your game. He and Shadow were arguing about something. What they were arguing about no one knew, because it was hard to hear exactly what they were saying. They were almost speaking at the same time, so their words were getting a bit lost in each other's argument.

"But I'm the fastest-" Sonic cut himself off.

He had just seen Candlehead sitting sadly by herself. He instantly recognized her, but after that accident that had almost killed her and her friend Matlow how could he not recognize her?

"Time Out Shadow." Sonic said before running over to Candlehead.

Shadow watched where Sonic was heading, and instantly understood why Sonic had paused the argument. He ran over as well.

"Candlehead?" Sonic said concernedly. "Why are you sitting here by yourself? Did something happen with Matlow?"

"No...but it does concern him." Candlehead said sadly. "I've fallen in love with him."

"But that's great news." Sonic smiled.

"Normally it would be, but why would Matlow want to date someone like me?" Candlehead sighed. "I mean sure we have a strong friendship, but...but I'm not smart enough for him. He deserves someone who can't hold him back, who'll be able to go to the top with him."

"But what if your love for him is real?" Sonic pointed out. "I'm sure it is, and if it is then he'll more than likely return your feelings."

"But how will I know it's real?"

"It is real." Shadow said.

Sonic and Candlehead looked at him surprised.

"How do you know?" Candlehead asked with confusion, especially since she had never actually met Shadow before. "And...who are you?"

"This is Shadow." Sonic introduced. "He's...well not exactly a friend of mine but not exactly an enemy either. I guess we're more like...friendly rivals really. Being both fast hedgehogs and all..."

"Oh." Candlehead smiled at Shadow politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here." Shadow actually smiled back slightly, really surprising Sonic. "Candlehead, I know your love is real because only real love would cause someone to put herself in harms way for another even if it might cost her her life."

Candlehead and Sonic stared at him.

"You saw Candlehead risk her life to save Matlow when they first visited our game didn't you?" Sonic realized.

"Yes, I did." Shadow confirmed, still smiling slightly at Candlehead. "And I respect anyone who's willing to sacrifice their lives for someone else. After all that sort of thing is the reason why I'm alive."

"Really?" Candlehead now looked sorry for him. "Someone sacrificed their life for you didn't they?"

"Yes, in my backstory." Shadow nodded. "Her name was Maria, she was my best friend. She was...my sister. Not biologically, she was human instead of hedgehog, but she still felt like my sister. See I was a genetic experiment, and a bunch of people viewed those experiments as dangerous so they sent soldiers to destroy everything. Maria was able to help me escape, and she let herself die in the process." He quickly wiped an eye before a tear could form. "I never recovered from losing her, and have also dedicated myself to protecting Earth in honor of her memory."

"Well...if she's a backstory character then can't you bring her back?" Candlehead asked. "You know, go into the Code Room and reprogram her code or something?"

Shadow hung his head, this time letting a tear fall.

"He can't, he's not really part of our game." Sonic explained, looking at Shadow sympathetically. "He came from another game that used to be in the arcade, but when he and the other characters from that game - including the other me - explored one of the other games they died from an accident. Shadow was the only one who survived. Then when my game entered the arcade I let him become part of our game so that he would have a home even if he couldn't let himself be seen by the players. Fortunately he was able to save his code box before his old game was unplugged, so we were able to replug it into our game. His story is also the reason why I started doing the PSAs in the first place. It's to prevent anyone else from suffering such a huge loss, and also in honor of my predecessor's memory."

By predecessor he meant that the previous Sonic had been in the arcade before him, not that the previous Sonic existed before him. This current Sonic actually came from an older game that used to belong to another arcade. Mr. Litwak bought his game when that arcade went out of business.

"Oh...I'm so sorry Shadow." Candlehead said regretfully.

"It's okay...it's not your fault." Shadow shook his head. "And thank you for trying to help."

"Candlehead, listen, you have to tell Matlow how you feel." Sonic said. "If you don't you may end up regretting it."

"He's right. Even though I'll never recover from losing Maria I'll always be grateful that she at least knew how much I loved her." Shadow added.

"Okay." Candlehead smiled, feeling better. "I'll go tell him. Thank you, thank you both."

"Anytime." Sonic grinned.

"Of course." Shadow nodded humbly.

Candlehead ran off to find Matlow.

"You know, you're surprisingly wise for a copy." Sonic smirked to Shadow.

"Thank-HEY!" Shadow glared at him.

And as the other game characters most likely thought: there they go again.

Candlehead ran until she found Matlow leaving the beginning of the race track.

"Candlehead? Where were you, I was worried about you." He said.

"Sorry, I needed to be alone to think." Candlehead rubbed the back of her head. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I...I love you."

Matlow beamed with surprise.

"I love you too." He said.

"What?" Candlehead now beamed. "But I thought I wasn't smart enough for you."

"And I thought I wasn't fun enough for you."

They both looked at each other incredulously and then cracked up. After they recovered they hugged...and slowly kissed. 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

Vanellope, Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead's parents were extremely happy for the new couple. Not that the other Racers weren't, it's just that Vanellope, Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead's parents were the happiest. Mr. and Mrs. Smartietiz weren't so sure about the idea, still wanting Matlow to get a great career like a scientist, but Matlow retorted that he already decided to have racing as his career and that he loved Candlehead more than science. His parents gave in and decided to support the couple, wanting his happiness more.

Also, Candlehead was so grateful for Sonic and Shadow's help, plus had become close to them by that point, that she decided they earned the right to know her real name. She went over to their game and took them aside the day off after she and Matlow ended up together.

"So how are things with Matlow?" Sonic asked.

"Wonderful, it turns out he loves me back." Candlehead grinned.

"Congratulations." Shadow smiled slightly.

"Thanks...and thank you both for giving me the courage to tell him my feelings." Candlehead said. "In fact, you two have been really great friends so I decided to tell you both my real name. Candlehead is just my nickname, and so far only the original Racers, Matlow, Ralph, Felix and Tamora know my real name. My real name is Candela."

"That's really pretty." Sonic smiled.

"Thank you." Candlehead smiled back.

"I do like that name...but I also like Candlehead." Shadow smiled.

"Same here, which is why I use it most of the time." Candlehead nodded.


	18. Preapring For Winter

Thanksgiving passed, with everyone very thankful. It was now Christmas season, and everyone was looking forward to the joys the holiday brought. One person however was also thinking of spring: Crumbelina. She had created a new spring style and was planning to show it to this famous fashion company, Vogo, that was going to visit Sugar Rush in February.

One day she brought Graham over to see them.

"Merveilleux! Exquis!" Graham beamed. "Oh Crumbelina these outfits are très excellente."

"Thank you." Crumbelina smiled but then sat on her bed looking worried. "I just hope the company will like them."

"But of course they will!" Graham said before seeing her worried look; he softened and sat down next to her. "But even if they don't it does not mean that your style isn't good. I happen to think it's the meilleur."

He put his arm around her and she snuggled against him.

A bit later in December, some couples planned to go Christmas shopping together. Adorabeezle went to Bodhivian's house to pick him up...

"Hello Stormberry, is Bodhi ready?" Adorabeezle smiled.

"Sorry, but he got sick this morning." Stormberry sighed. "And since mom and dad had to go to work I have to stay home to take care of him. Stinks too, Reneult and I had made plans to go play in the park one last time before it gets too cold for things you can usually only enjoy during spring and summer. I mean I do love my brother and want him to get well, but I'd hate to disappoint Reneult."

Sugar Rush did get hot and cold weather, but weather that would be more noticeable to the players - like rain and snow - were saved for when the arcade was closed. Rain happened now and then at night and snow only begun the night of December 23rd and then went away January 3rd. This was because Mr. Litwak had the arcade closed during that time while he spent the holidays with his daughter and grandchildren. The Sugar Rushians didn't mind having snow for a relatively short time because at least they got to have snow. The players never enjoyed snow at all unless they took a vacation to a ski resort or something like that.

"Go ahead, I'll stay here and take care of Bodhi." Adorabeezle smiled.

"Really?" Stormberry smiled.

"Of course. It won't be much fun shopping without him anyway. Just tell Nougetsia where I am before you and Reneult head to the park okay?"

"No problem, and thank you Adora!" Stormberry hugged her. "This means a lot to me."

"What are friends for? Besides Bodhi is my boyfriend so as his girlfriend I'm allowed to take care of him when he's feeling bad."

"True that." Stormberry grinned. "I'll just get my stuff and then head out."

She grabbed her stuff and left.

"Thanks again!" She called.

"Anytime!" Adorabeezle called back, waving.

She then went upstairs to check on Bodhivian. When she got into his bedroom she could see that he really was sick.

"Hey Bodhi." She said gently.

"Adora..." He croaked weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking Stormberry's place as your caretaker so that she can play with Reneult." Adorabeezle smiled.

"You didn't have to do that..."

"Hey what are does for? Especially does who are fambo for their stags." Adorabeezle petted Bodhivian's head gently. "Cold weather got to you huh?"

"Yeah...not used to it so when it came I tried to stay indoors as much as possible." Bodhivian smiled weakly. "Obviously backfired... Real bummer too, I really wanted to hang out with you."

"We still can, we just can't do as much. Now you just rest, I'll get you something to eat or drink."

"Both...I'd like some pineapple soup and mango juice please."

"Coming right up." Adorabeezle left.

She spent almost the rest of the day taking care of Bodhivian. She gave him food and liquids, and at one point read a surfing story to him, but mostly let him sleep and read quietly to herself. Bodhivian did tell her that he didn't want her to get sick, but she shrugged it off. She had a good immune system anyway, so even if she did get sick it wouldn't affect her too badly.

Back at the mall, one of the couples doing shopping was Applelo and Madison. Applelo wasn't used to shopping in malls, especially since his family mostly gave each other homemade presents before, so it obviously didn't take long for him to get overwhelmed.

"Look apple pie, another bookstore!" Madison said excitedly before running into the store.

Applelo followed her inside and hefted the bags he was holding for her onto the ground.

"You're 'bout as excitable wit' shoppin' as ah jackalope wit' his tail on fire." He remarked.

"Oh shush." She smirked. "You said you wanted to go Christmas shopping with me. Besides, we went to the pasture on our last date."

"Date? This is more like ah boyfrien' version of slavery." Applelo joked.

"Very funny." Madison smirked. "I know you're not into shopping but you have to admit you're grateful that I'm not into fashion, jewelry, or perfume."

"So true." Applelo smiled. "But even if you were it'd be worth it. No matter what you're my chocolate candy."

Madison smiled and kissed Applelo on the cheek. Chocolate Candy became his affectionate nickname for her because her candy theme happened to be M&Ms.

Anyway, most of the other boyfriends took the shopping a little better. Graham loved to see Crumbelina try on new outfits and study jewelry, especially because he hoped it would give him a great idea for her present. Matlow enjoyed himself too because Candlehead mostly looked through arts and crafts stores and cooking stores. He liked to talk about what projects or treats they could make together with her. In return Candlehead enjoyed going into science stores, especially since some of the toys were cool. Ever since they made up after that fight they had gotten more into each other's favorite subjects, and ended up loving to work together on both subjects. But their favorite thing to work on together was cooking.

As for Sourward and Citrusella, Sourward had gotten a few ideas for her present but Citrusella couldn't think of anything perfect for Sourward. Especially since her mind was still on getting his family's recipes out of Sluggum's computer. That's when she decided: she was going to try to find a way to get the recipes out of the computer and bring a copy of the altered versions back to Sourward. That was going to be her present for him. But how was she going to accomplish this?

She spent a few days thinking about it, until Jubileena decided to talk to her.

"Is something wrong? You've been lost in thought about something lately." Jubileena asked after entering Citrusella's room.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, it's just..." Citrusella sighed, sitting on her bed. "I was thinking about Sourward's present: the recipes Thembara stole and had altered."

"Seriously? You're planning on getting those back for him even though he doesn't want you to?" Jubileena was surprised.

"I have to, those are his family's recipes. No one else should be making a profit off them." Citrusella said. "It's not fair, he never deserved to have them stolen from his family's factory in the first place. Especially not at the expense of his heart."

"You really do love him don't you?" Jubileena smiled.

"Yes..." Citrusella smiled. "I do. When he helped me get back in the kart he showed me his real self. His generosity, kindness, gentleness..." Citrusella lay back lovestruck. "He's so wonderful..."

"Whoa, you got it bad." Jubileena grinned. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"What? What do you mean 'we'?" Citrusella sat up confused.

"Well do you think I'm gonna let you do something this dangerous by yourself?" Jubileena grinned. "No way. No I am definitely helping my sister get the perfect present for her true love."

Citrusella beamed and went over to hug her.

"You're the best sister ever." Citrusella smiled.

"Tell me something I don't know." Jubileena joked. "Nah just kidding, actually I'm second best."

"Oh yeah? After who?"

"You."

Citrusella just smirked.

"Now...I think we'd best talk to Taffyta first." Jubileena decided. "She always has been a great leader. Even if Vanellope is the best, but I don't want to risk putting our president in danger. Especially not after all the grief we used to give her during Turbo's rule."

"Right." Citrusella agreed.

So they left to see Taffyta.

"I'm with you, it isn't fair that the Sluggums still get to make a profit off the Lemonscan recipes after all that Thembara did to Sourward." Taffyta nodded, frowning. "You're also right about not letting Vanellope in on this. She nearly got killed by Turbo twice, not to mention he made us bully her all the time. I'm not going to allow any risk of her being harmed again, not if I can help it. So let's see...well we're going to need someone who can pull a few stunts. I'm thinking Swizzle, Adam's good but he's a little too bold. Too much of a risk of getting caught with him. I'm also thinking we're going to need gadgets. Nothing too fancy, but a few distractions wouldn't hurt..." Taffyta snapped her fingers. "Jubileena, that's where you come in."

"Me?" Jubileena hesitated.

"Yes you, we don't need any fancy pranks and as I recall you already learned a lot from Gloyd."

"Okay..."

"Hold it."

Startled, Jubileena and Citrusella turned and saw Rancis and Gloyd there.

"We were planning on inviting you two out on a date when we overheard." Rancis said. "I'm not letting you go without me Taffyta, what if you get hurt?"

"Same here, I am not letting anything happen to Jubileena." Gloyd nodded.

"Look, we can't let too many people come it could increase the risk of our getting caught." Taffyta pointed out.

"If I may suggest a compromise."

They then saw Matlow to Taffyta's left and Rancis's right respectively.

"Hey Matlow, where's Candlehead?" Citrusella asked.

"We had just finished one of our dates." Matlow explained. "Anyway, how about instead of Gloyd and Rancis going I go in their place? I do happen to know quite a bit about computers..." He smiled knowingly.

"Perfect." Taffyta gave Matlow a nod. "What do you boys say?"

"Well...okay." Gloyd sighed reluctantly.

"With Swizzle and Matlow both going along, plus yourself Taffyta, I think that's a fair compromise." Rancis agreed. "But Matlow, if anything happens to Taffyta you'll have me to answer too. And you can pass that message along to Swizzle."

"Ditto if anything happens to Jubileena." Gloyd added.

"You have my word: I will not let anything happen to them." Matlow put his hand over his heart.

"Very well...but Taffyta please be careful." Rancis said concernedly. "I know you can take of yourself, but...but I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"It'll be okay Rancis, we promise not to take any unnecessary risks." Taffyta smiled, going over to him to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Also I know Vanellope will want to know what happened to us...I'm sure Ralph and Candiel will keep her from following us so it's okay to tell her."

"Okay." Rancis hung his head slightly.

"Jubileena, here." Gloyd gave her a small bag. "It's some stinkbombs I've been working on. They might come in handy."

Jubileena kissed his cheek.

"If I end up using them I'll think of you." She smiled.

"I'll try to see that as a compliment." Gloyd chuckled.

"I think we'd best leave for Limepool now." Taffyta looked at her watch. "We can use the remaining time to get a layout of the factory as well as figure out how to break in. Matlow, we'll definitely need your help there."

"Leave it to me." Matlow nodded. "Oh, and you can tell Candlehead where I've gone but only her and Vanellope."

"Right, this is going to be a Christmas surprise for Sourward." Citrusella blushed a little.

"Dang." Was all Gloyd could say; Rancis and Matlow were too impressed to say anything.

So after going to hire Swizzle into the group they left. Gloyd and Rancis went to Candlehead and Minty (Swizzle's request) to tell them where they went, also telling them to not tell anyone else. They then went to see Vanellope, who was really upset. Ralph and Candiel were there too, but Reneult was in the kitchen with Sour Bill. Reneult wanted to practice his cooking (he kinda took after Ralph in that subject because of his strength and hands) and Sour Bill was helping him.

"What are they thinking?" Vanellope frowned. "Doing a dangerous mission like-I'm going after them."

"Oh no you're not." Ralph gently pulled her back.

"Ralph!" Vanellope protested.

"Ralph is right Vanellope, it's too dangerous." Candiel agreed. "Which...I believe is the reason why they didn't want you to come with them."

"Exactly, if anything ever happened to you..." Ralph hung his head. "I mean...you're my reason for living. My game and friends do mean a lot to me but...but you're the first one I was willing to sacrifice my life for. And without you in my life I- I couldn't go on. I wouldn't even be able to do my job. I'd just spend the rest of my life in the castle with Reneult wishing that I could die too but can't due to not wanting to abandon our son."

Vanellope softened. She just couldn't risk leaving Ralph heartbroken and Reneult motherless. Fatherless too, she knew Ralph would be so broken up that Reneult probably wouldn't even recognize him.

"Okay." She gave in; she then smirked. "Eh, Taffyta's with them anyway. I know she'll get them back safely."

"That she will." Candiel agreed.


	19. The Mission

Meanwhile, Taffyta and her group had made it into Limepool within a matter of hours and booked themselves into an inexpensive motel. They knew they would have to do their mission at night plus wouldn't have time to do some sightseeing so there was no point in paying more for a classier hotel.

Matlow had brought his laptop, and got to work researching the factory online. Taffyta, Jubileena, Citrusella, and Swizzle discussed tactics they were going to use.

"Hey...this might work to our advantage." Matlow smirked. "Looks like the factory hosts tours and there's another one this afternoon. We can use the tour to help figure out where the main computer is as well as what the security is like."

"Yeah but we can't all go, Thembara might be there and might recognize one of us." Swizzle pointed out.

"She'd definitely recognize me so count me out." Citrusella added.

"She'd recognize me too...darn it." Jubileena frowned. "For a second there I was hoping for a chance to sneak a stink bomb into her shoulder bag."

The others sniggered.

"I'll go. I was in the far back at the time and if I get some simple yet brighter clothes I doubt Thembara will see me as suspicious." Matlow offered.

"I'll go with you in a new outfit too, two preteens might stand out less than one." Swizzle added. "I know, we'll pose as sons of tourists who wanted to take the tour the same time our parents wanted to enjoy a play."

"Right, I'd better look up what plays are performing so you guys can make your alibi sound more legitimate." Taffyta looked through the newspaper, which she picked up not long after entering the city.

After deciding on the play for the alibi Swizzle and Matlow left to get some new outfits and take the tour. Taffyta, Jubileena, and Citrusella went on their own shopping trip: to get black clothing for later that night.

Then that night, everything was set. Swizzle and Matlow had gotten the location of the main computer and learned about the security system. They all put on their new black clothing, grabbed their equipment, and left.

They headed for the back, and Jubileena tossed a stink bomb around the back door. This caused the guards that were there to run away. There was a security camera pointing towards the doorway however, so they had to climb over the fence on the camera's blind side. They then broke into the ventilation and crawled through the vents. There was a close call though, another guard was coming with the two previous guards to investigate the sudden stink. Fortunately the last of the group managed to make in through the vent and shut it without getting caught.

Matlow had made a map of how to reach the main computer, so using that Taffyta and Citrusella managed to lead the group towards the room where the main computer was. Unfortunately there were a bunch of people there.

"Night owls." Jubileena muttered, annoyed. "This calls for another prank. Let's see...oo." She grinned.

She had brought her can of snakes. And there happened to be a snack table below them.

"Better find a lower vent so no one spots you." Taffyta suggested.

"Got it, be right back. Swizzle you're with me, I'll probably need your skills." Jubileena said.

"Right." Swizzle agreed.

They left and headed for a lower vent. Fortunately since the main computer needed to be kept cool there were quite a few vents in that room. Unfortunately the closest lower vent wasn't close enough.

"I'll stealth the can in." Swizzle whispered.

"Okay, but be careful." Jubileena whispered back.

They quietly opened the vent, which was fortunately under a different table, and Swizzle cautiously stepped out. Thank goodness for the black clothing, no one even noticed him. He then somersaulted towards the water cooler-

"What was that?" One guy said.

"What was what?" Another guy said.

"I thought I heard something over there."

A couple guys went over to the water cooler and looked around it...nothing. This was because Swizzle had squeezed himself under the small space between the cooler and floor. Again, thank goodness for black clothing.

"That's weird..." The first guy muttered. "Oh well, maybe I'm just tired. It has been a long day. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He and the other guys said their goodbyes. Swizzle quickly ducked under the snack table while their backs were turned. He then snuck the can of snakes onto the table. Luckily a few minutes later another guy went to get a snack.

"Hey, who brought the nuts?" He asked.

Everyone else reacted with confusion. The guy at the snack table shrugged and opened the can...and snakes came out. That guy freaked out and ran away, same with a few other guys, but the rest caught on.

"Who's the jokester who set that old gag up?" A different guy frowned.

Again, confused reactions. Unfortunately Swizzle was now trapped. He didn't want to risk sneaking back into the vent. Luckily Jubileena had snuck him a stink bomb before he left just in case, so he rolled it out the door after the remaining guys drew their attentions back to the main computer. The resulting stink caused the people outside to scream and complain. This in turn caused most of the remaining guys to investigate, leaving only one to guard the computer.

Also fortunately he seemed to be into something, so Swizzle took the chance to sneak out from under the table and silently shut the door. The last guy really was into something, because he didn't even seem to notice the slight noise the door made. Taffyta, Citrusella, and Matlow then took a chance and slowly went down to the lower vent where Jubileena was. They all then snuck over to one side of the main computer where the last guy couldn't see them.

They paused for a moment to think of what to do, when Citrusella noticed that there was a container of computer parts by them. Apparently replacement parts or something. She picked up a heavy piece and tossed it at the last guy. Bulls-eye, it hit him on the head and knocked him out.

"Way to go!" Taffyta whispered.

Citrusella just nodded triumphantly before turning to Matlow.

"Matlow, your turn again." She said.

"Got it." Matlow whispered.

He went to the nearest computer screen. Fortunately it was still logged in so he looked up recipes on it. Yes! It turns out the Sluggums had been so proud about Thembara stealing the Lemonscan recipes that they actually titled one file 'Pre-Lemonscan Recipes'. Matlow opened it up to double-check. Interestingly, they all seemed to have the original titles of the recipes rather than modified versions. They could tell because all the titles had the word 'lemon' in them somewhere.

"I recognize that one, Sourward made it for me once." Citrusella whispered, pointing to a recipe.

Matlow nodded, inserted a floppy disc he had brought, and transferred the files onto it. It took a moment, so they took that moment to relax. Swizzle was keeping an eye on the knocked-out guy, who looked as if he wasn't going to stir anytime soon. Perhaps he had been really tired as well.

Then there was a rattling of the doorknob. Matlow, Jubileena, Citrusella, and Taffyta looked freaked out.

"Relax, I locked it." Swizzle whispered.

"But one of them may have their keys." Taffyta whispered back.

"I don't think so, their coats are still here and guys usually use their jacket and coat pockets most of the time." Matlow whispered.

Sure enough grumbling was heard on the other side of the door. Then banging.

"I hope it doesn't wake up him." Jubileena whispered nervously, glancing at the knocked-out guy.

"I'll knock him out again if it does." Swizzle whispered before going over to the knocked out guy.

"How much longer?" Taffyta said nervously.

"Almost there, luckily this is a fast computer." Citrusella whispered with relief. "It's already past eighty percent...no ninety percent..."

"And we're done." Matlow sighed with relief before ejecting the floppy disc.

"Not yet, move over." Citrusella whispered.

Matlow did and Citrusella moved onto the chair. She then permanently deleted the 'Pre-Lemonscan Recipes' file.

"Now we're done." She grinned.

"Good, we'd better go now." Taffyta whispered.

Everyone else agreed, and went back through the vents. Jubileena had already gathered up her snakes and can earlier so she was able to quickly follow them as well. They then shut the vent behind them and quietly headed the way they came in. The two guards at the back entrance were back again, so Jubileena quietly removed the vent and tossed another stink bomb at them. They complained about it happening again and ran off. Taffyta and her group then made a break for it, making sure to replace the vent before leaving.

They then quickly scrambled over the fence and removed their black outer clothing just before nearing the sidewalks. They quickly dawned their own more colorful outer clothing and entered the sidewalk. Their hearts were still pounding but they managed to maintain a causal air before heading back into their hotel room. That was when they collapsed.

"I hope we never have to go through that again." Matlow said with relief.

Everyone else agreed. Citrusella however was grinning.

"I did it...we did it..." She said happily. "I can't wait to see the look on Sourward's face."

"I just hope he doesn't get mad at you for putting yourself in danger like that." Swizzle wiped his forehead.

"Actually I think he'll be too surprised to be mad." Jubileena grinned.

They all got a good night's sleep, and the next day they headed back to Sugar Rush. After they got back Gloyd, Rancis, Candlehead, Minty, and Vanellope were more than relieved to see them alive and well. Sourward was glad to see Citrusella back as well, but not relieved since he didn't know about the real reason behind the trip. He just thought they all had come up with present ideas that could only be bought in the city. That's what Gloyd and Rancis said to him anyway. It's what the parents of those who had gone on the mission believed too, their kids had told them that was the reason and Gloyd and Rancis decided to continue using it.

Of course the theft had been noticed, but the Sluggums and police made one mistake that forever kept Sugar Rush safe from persecution: they believed an adult, most likely a cat burglar, had done the deed. They never once thought that a kid let alone a bunch of kids had pulled it off.


	20. Christmas Gifts

A.N. Another character will be introduced here, this time an OC of mine who was based on an actual character Pixar fans might recognize.

More time passed, and Christmas Eve arrived. Vanellope hosted another party so that Racers and other citizens could exchange presents. Christmas Day was kinda 'family only', though friends were still allowed to visit each other.

"Joyeux Noël ma belle princesse." Graham gave Crumbelina a box.

"Joyeux Noël." Crumbelina smiled back.

"Open it." Graham smiled. "Go ahead."

Crumbelina hesitated, but did...to reveal a beautiful necklace made up of small gold and diamond hearts.

"Oh Graham..." Crumbelina breathed. "I...it's beautiful."

"Not as belle as you." Graham kissed her hand. "I wanted you to open it now because I want to see you wear it tonight."

Crumbelina smiled and let Graham put it on her.

"Parfait." He smiled.

"It must've been expensive..." Crumbelina fingered the necklace awkwardly.

"Don't worry, remember I still have that part-time job in your favorite store." Graham smiled reassuringly. "I was able to save up more than enough."

Crumbelina smiled and kissed him on the cheek. She then gave him her present.

Other Racers exchanged presents too, except for Sourward and Citrusella. Sourward did give Citrusella her present, but she didn't give him hers.

"I was wondering if I could come over later tomorrow to give you yours." Citrusella said shyly. "It's...kinda private."

"Of course, I'm sure my parents won't mind." Sourward agreed even though he was a bit confused.

The next morning presents were opened. Vanellope ended up receiving a few touching presents: Reneult gave her a homemade medal that said 'Best Mom' on it, Ralph gave her a red hoodie that he made (without help from Felix but with help from Mary), and Candiel gave her a mint green tiara that read 'President' in the designed part. It was his way of telling her that even though she was now president she'll always be his little princess. Last year he gave her an enlarged version of the only princess gown she never minded wearing - a simple mint green one - so that she would have something nice to wear for very special occasions. So, now she had a full outfit (the gown was floor length so the shoes and leggings didn't matter).

Ralph got a 'Best Dad' medal from Reneult, a homemade crown from Vanellope that was decorated to match the candies in her hair plus had 'First-Man' written in the middle, and a red suit from Candiel. Vanellope made Ralph the crown because Candiel had told her that he was planning on having an suit made for Ralph that would allow him to look like a 'prince' whenever Vanellope had to wear her princess outfit. Vanellope wanted Ralph to have something to wear on his head so that his outfit would be complete.

Reneult also got a suit from Candiel, for the same reason, though no crown in his case. In that kingdom princes didn't get the crown until they inherited the throne and Reneult still wanted to wait. As for his other presents he got a white horse plushie from Vanellope. Even though she didn't mind having a pet she kinda felt sorry that he couldn't have one (he wanted a horse like her too) and so thought that a plushie version would be good enough. It was, Reneult loved it and named it Majestic Malt after his grandmother (and as a sort of reference to Black Beauty). From Ralph Reneult got a medal that said 'You're A Chocolate Chip of a Racer'. This was Ralph's way of telling Reneult that he didn't mind his not becoming a wrecker, and was proud of how good a Racer he had become. Luckily Ralph had mastered making cookies enough to make the medal without messing up.

They got good presents from the rest of the family and vice-versa, and the other characters got great presents as well, but if I listed them all then this might get slightly boring. So I'm going to merely state what Crumbelina gave Graham (to be fair) and then move on to Sourward and Citrusella.

Graham was very touched with Crumbelina's gift. She had given him a model of the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa connected together by the base. It was her way of saying that even though they came from different backgrounds they would always be one (Crumbelina had a little nobility in her background - which was one of the reasons why she had been so interested in marrying someone noble or royal - whereas Graham had none that he knew of).

Citrusella also was touched by Sourward's gift. It was a simple necklace save one detail: the pendant in the middle. The pendant was of a crystal lemon with a heart engraved into it. Citrusella loved it because she knew that it was Sourward's way of physically giving her his heart. Meaning he trusted her with his heart.

Citrusella ended up wearing it to Sourward's house despite it not matching one part of her outfit.

She rang the doorbell and Mrs. Lemonscan opened it.

"Hello Citrusella, come on it." She smiled.

"Thank you." Citrusella smiled back.

They then went into the living room where Sourward was waiting. He smiled upon seeing her...and upon seeing that she was wearing the necklace he gave her.

"I'm glad you like it." He said. "I know yellow's not your color but..."

"No, I don't like it. I love it." Citrusella smiled. "Now, before you open your present you'd best bring your laptop over."

While big company computers still used floppy disks laptops did exist (technology progressed in game worlds as well as the human world) and did require a flash-drive. Fortunately Matlow had the smarts to covert what was on a floppy disk into a flash-drive. And that's what was in the wrapped box Citrusella pulled out of her jacket.

Sourward was confused by Citrusella's request but did as she asked. As he took a couple minutes to get his laptop out of his room Citrusella talked a little with his parents, trying to hide her excitement.

"Here you go." Sourward said, turning his laptop on.

Once it came on...

"Okay, you can open it." Citrusella smiled.

Sourward did and found the flash-drive. He then understood Citrusella's previous request and plugged the flash-drive into his computer. He froze and his eyes widened as he saw the title of the file that came up.

"What came up son?" Mr. Lemonscan asked.

"P-Pre-Lemon...scan...Recipes..." Sourward stammered.

His parents dropped their mouths open. Mrs. Lemonscan put a hand to her mouth.

Sourward shakily opened the file and looked through the items. He opened one item and read it. Tears formed in his eyes and he started to sob a little.

"You...you risked danger...getting into trouble...all that just to...?" Sourward wiped an eye. "How did you ever...?"

"Some of my friends helped...I couldn't have done it without them actually." Citrusella blushed. "I did it for you Sourward, and they did it to help a friend and for justice. It just wasn't fair that the Sluggums were still profiting from your family's recipes after what Thembara had done to you. So, I deleted them from their factory computer and brought the altered versions to you as proof."

"So that's how...there was a report in the newspaper about the factory being robbed of a file but they thought that a cat burglar or someone like that did it." Mr. Lemonscan remembered. "But...it was actually you and your friends the whole time? You all risked imprisonment just...just to avenge our son?"

Citrusella nodded, blushing even more now.

Sourward was still sobbing, but he was smiling as well. He felt his whole body throb with love for Citrusella. He gently grabbed her and gave her a big, passionate kiss. Citrusella relaxed and let him, only returning the kiss a minute later.

Soon, obviously, it was January. Bodhivian had decided to play outside more to get used to the cold weather and to keep from getting sick again. So he, Adorabeezle, Swizzle, Adamec, Minty, and Sticky were hanging out around the ice cream mountains. Mostly they walked and had ice cream-ball fights and things like that, but they also had brought their snowboards for when they came cross choice slopes. Minty and Sticky had learned how to snowboard a while back from their boyfriends.

At one point Bodhivian zoomed on ahead, and then rested at the end to wait for his friends. He suddenly screamed, causing his friends to go even faster. When they caught up with him Adamec screamed too, his sparkler turning brown, but Minty, Sticky, Swizzle and Adorabeezle just chuckled.

There was an Abominable Snowball cake monster right in front of them.

"Relax guys, Abominable Snowballs are very friendly." Swizzle smiled. "In fact they're only called abominable because they're based on the legend of the Abominable Snowman."

"Hey John!" Adorbeezle waved. "Guys this is John, he's a good friend of mine."

"Hey there Adorabeezle!" John smiled. "Welcome to the land of the Abominable Snowballs! I know we're based on that legend but I really think our title should be changed you know? I mean seriously, why not Agreeable or Adorable even? We're nice creatures. Hey, how about I show you around?"

"Of course." Adorabeezle smiled. "Come on guys."

They all did, and ended up having a really good time. Later on John gave them some snowcones and Swizzle picked up a yellow one.

"Whoa Swizzle don't eat that!" Adamec panicked.

"Why not? It's just lemon." Swizzle looked at him confused.

"It...oh. I thought...nevermind." Adamec blushed, his sparkler turning red-brown.

Everyone else sniggered but got over it quickly to spare Adamec's feelings.


	21. Valentine Verses

February then arrived, and two weeks later Valentine's Day arrived. All the couples went out, while friends just hung out.

Among the friends hanging out were Nougetsia and Charleston. They were at Charleston's house watching romantic vintage movies like Roman Holiday, Casablanca, and Singin' In The Rain. They slowly started to get caught up in the romance, until finally, by the last one, Nougetsia was resting her head blissfully on Charleston's shoulder. Charleston blushed at this as he felt his heart starting to beat faster. Nougetsia in turn felt her heart starting to beat faster and also felt like staying there with him. That's when they both realized that they had fallen in love.

Charleston thought about how to tell Nougetsia how he felt, and then got the idea to tell her through vintage romantic songs. When he got home he picked out a good selection of songs, and the next night he started to sing one in Frank Sinatra's voice:

All I do is dream of you  
The whole night through  
With the dawn, I still go on  
And dream of you  
You're every thought  
You're everything  
You're every song I ever sing  
Summer, winter, autumn and spring

And were there more  
Than twenty-four hours a day  
They'd be spent in sweet content  
Dreamin' away

When skies are gray  
When skies are blue  
Morning, noon and nighttime too  
All I do the whole day through  
Is dream of you  
All I do the whole day through  
Is dream of you.

All I do the whole day through  
Is dream of you

Nougetsia instantly got what Charleston was saying and blushed. She wanted to return his feelings, but what he did for her was so sweet that she wanted to do it in a special way. However she couldn't figure out how she was going to do it.

"That was wonderful Charles." She smiled.

"I'm glad you liked it." Charleston looked up hopefully, but Nougetsia didn't say anything. "Would you like me to sing to you again tomorrow night?"

"I'd love you to." Nougetsia smiled.

Charleston smiled and tipped his hat. He assumed that Nougetsia hadn't gotten the message so he decided to keep serenading her each night until she did.

The next night he sang as the Beatles. He pulled it off by recording himself singing the song as three of the Beatles and playing all three recordings at the same time while he sang as the fourth one:

If there's anything that you want  
If there's anything I can do  
Just call on me and I'll send it along  
With love from me to you

I've got everything that you want  
Like a heart that is oh, so true  
Just call on me and I'll send it along  
With love from me to you

I got arms that long to hold you  
And keep you by my side  
I got lips that long to kiss you  
And keep you satisfied, oooh

If there's anything that you want  
If there's anything I can do  
Just call on me and I'll send it along  
With love from me to you  
From me, to you

From me, to you

Just call on me and I'll send it along  
With love from me to you

I got arms that long to hold you  
And keep you by my side  
I got lips that long to kiss you  
And keep you satisfied, oooh

If there's anything that you want  
If there's anything I can do  
Just call on me and I'll send it along  
With love from me to you  
To you, to you, to you

Nougetsia appreciated the song again, especially since it was Beatles, but still didn't admit her feelings. Charleston was confused, but politely told her that he'd see her tomorrow.

The following night he did Perry Como:

Someone lights up my heart like the sun,  
And that someone is you, please believe me!  
You're my starlight when daytime is done  
My darling, please darling, believe me!

You're the smile on my lips when I wake,  
You're a faith that I'll never forsake!  
No one loves with a love that I bring you  
Please believe me, believe me please do!

You're the smile on my lips when I wake,  
You're a faith that I'll never forsake!  
No one loves with a love that I bring you

Please believe me, believe me please do!

Nougetsia loved it again, but still couldn't figure out how to tell Charleston her feelings. The next day she decided to ask some of the girls for advice.

"Charles serenaded me three night in a row, one night with the Beatles. He loves me!" Nougetsia smiled happily. "I want to tell him that I love him back, but I want to tell him in a special way that equals his songs."

"Forget the special way, just tell him how you feel before he starts to think that you don't love him back." Taffyta said.

"But he deserves to be told a special way." Nougetsia said.

The other girls agreed and started to help her think of a way to tell Charleston.

Meanwhile Charleston was in another part of town. Adorabeezle was there too.

"Hey Adorabeezle, can you help me?" He said, noticing her nearby.

"Sure thing Charles, what's up?" She asked.

"Well, I've been serenading Nougetsia the past three nights to tell her that I love her but she hasn't said anything back." Charleston explained.

"Don't worry, she's just busy trying to figure out how to thank you in a way that equals your songs." Adorabeezle smiled.

"How do you know? Did you talk to her?"

"Nah, I just know my sister that well."

"Oh. Thanks Adorabeezle." Charleston smiled before leaving.

"Anytime." Adorabeezle grinned.

Charleston looked for Nougetsia before spotting her sitting with some of the other girls. He went over to them.

"Hi Nougetsia, can I talk to you alone for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure." Nougetsia smiled before leaving with him.

They went down the sidewalk for many feet until Charleston stopped.

"Adorabeezle told me that you've been trying to figure out how to thank me for my songs." He admitted. "It's okay, it doesn't have to be special as long as I know that you're grateful."

"Oh. Well, if you say so." Nougetsia shrugged...before getting an idea. "I'll tell you later tonight, after another one of your songs."

"Okay." Charleston agreed.

That night, Charleston sang another song. This one as Dick Haymes:

How many times do I have to tell you  
That you're the person that I adore?  
How many times do I have to tell you  
And not repeat what I have said before?

How many ways can I say I miss you  
And skip the ever familiar rhymes?  
How many times do I have to kiss you?  
Don't make it less than a million times

I've said over and over and over and over again  
That you are my one obsession  
But I'd be willing to say it again and again  
If I thought it would make an impression

How many dreams do I have to sell you  
To make the one in my heart come true?  
How many times do I have to tell you  
Before you know I'm in love with you?

How many dreams do I have to sell you  
To make the one in my heart come true?  
How many times do I have to tell you  
Before you know I'm in love with you?

Nougetsia now realized that Charleston had been desperately waiting for her to say whether or not she loved him back. Thank goodness she thought of a way to tell him.

After the song she invited him in and then told him to close his eyes. He did and she led him into the dining room.

"Okay, you can open your eyes." She smiled.

He did...and saw a heart-shaped cake on the table in front of him. Written on the cake were the words I Love You Too and covering most of the rest of the cake were random vintage symbols. The peace sign, the NRA logo, the Civil Defense Corps logo, the Red Cross logo, etc.

"You made this for me?" Charleston was very touched, and for a good reason: Nougetsia wasn't that into baking and so only baked for her family.

"Well, like the cake says I do love you." Nougetsia smiled.

Charleston hugged her and she returned the hug. They then pulled apart slightly to gaze at each other...and ended up kissing. 8-bit hearts surrounded them.

The next day word spread round and everyone was happy for them. Adorabeezle most of all. That night Charleston serenaded her one last time. For now anyway. This time he was Bing Crosby:

Yesterday you came my way  
And when you smiled at me  
In my heart I felt a thrill you see  
That it was love at sight and  
I was right to love you as I do  
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too

Your eyes of blue, your kisses too  
I never knew what they could do  
I can't believe that you're in love with me

You're telling every one I know  
I'm on your mind each place we go  
They can't believe that you're in love with me

I have always placed you far above me  
I just can't imagine that you love me  
And after all is said and done  
To think that I'm the lucky one  
I can't believe that you're in love with me

Skies are gray. I'm blue each day  
When you are not around  
Every thing goes wrong, my dear I've found  
But when you're by my side I fill with pride  
For I'm so proud of you  
It all seems too good to me to all be true

Your eyes of blue, your kisses too  
I never knew what they could do  
I can't believe that you're in love with me

You're telling every one I know  
I'm on your mind each place we go  
They can't believe that you're in love with me

I have always placed you far above me  
I just can't imagine that you love me  
And after all is said and done  
To think that I'm the lucky one  
I can't believe that you're in love with me

Much later in February, the fashion company Vogo showed up. Crumbelina showed them her outfits...but they didn't like them. She saved the last of her dignity for the walk home...and then fell onto her bed crying. It didn't take long for Graham to show up.

"Oh go away!" Crumbelina sobbed.

"Pas." Graham said. "I will not. Don't take what they said seriously, perhaps you are just ahead of the times."

"No...I just don't know as much about fashion as I thought I did." Crumbelina sat up, wiping her eyes.

"Ridicule!" Graham said. "Look, you don't need fame or fortune. You need family, friends, and someone who'll always love you. And you already have all that."

Crumbelina sighed.

"Graham, I never cared about the wealth or the fame." She admitted. "I only wanted to marry someone from nobility or at least create a famous new fashion style because I want to become someone important."

Graham went over to her, sat down next to her, and wrapped his arm around her.

"You are importante to me." He said gently.

Crumbelina turned to look into his eyes and saw that it was true. She started to feel a lot better and actually smiled as her heart speeded a little.

"You know...that is more than good enough." She said.

Graham smiled and gently kissed her. She returned the kiss and soon they were kissing passionately.


	22. Different Preferences

A.N. Just a warning ahead of time: this chapter is going to reveal one character to be gay and another to be bisexual. If you have any problems with this then feel free to skip ahead to the twenty-fourth chapter and avoid the last chapter. And please, no nasty reviews about this either.

The next month the students found out that there was going to be a spring dance for both romantic and platonic couples. Those who had a boyfriend or girlfriend of course already had someone to go with, but the singles still had to find someone. Among the singles were Henreesa and Mazie.

One school day Henreesa grumbled to herself as she headed to the yard where students had lunch before continuing their classes. She continued grumbling as she headed for the tree where she, Applelo, Madison, and Mazie always sat.

"What's wrong?" Madison asked.

"Another boy tried to ask me to the dance, and again it was obvious that he just wanted a girlfriend." Henreesa explained. "I wish they'd get it through their thick skulls that I'm not interested in dating at all. It happened last year and the year before, etc, too!"

"Oh Henry, are you sure you don't want to go to the dance with me?" A boy called out.

"Ah go stick your head in the toilet where it belongs!" Henreesa retorted.

Applelo, Madison, and Mazie laughed. Vanellope and Reneult, who were nearby, cracked up. A few other students who overheard either laughed or chuckled too, causing the boy to leave embarrassedly.

"Do you even want to go to the dance at all? If you don't then maybe that'll get the boys off your back." Mazie suggested.

"Actually I do want to go, that's the problem." Henreesa shrugged as she started to eat her lunch.

"What about you Mazie?" Applelo asked. "Is there anyone you want to go with?"

"No, not yet." Mazie shook her head. "I mean a lot of the boys are cute, but I'm waiting for one who I can really like first."

"Makes sense." Madison agreed.

More days passed, and Henreesa and Mazie still hadn't found anyone they wanted to go with.

Then a couple days before the dance they talked more about their situation. Applelo and his parents, plus Madison, were busy in the apple orchard so Mazie and Henreesa decided to help out by taking care of the horses.

"So, not a single boy has made your heart flutter yet?" Henreesa asked as she scrubbed the saddles.

"Nope. What about you?" Mazie asked as she groomed the horses.

"Nah, so far the thought of even going out with one of those hormonal jerks makes me feel like throwing up." Henreesa frowned then sighed. "At this rate neither of us will find someone to go with."

"Well...then how about we go together? As friends?" Mazie suggested. "After all the dance didn't say that it was for couples of opposite genders, just couples in general. Including those who are just friends. Besides, I'm not that interested in a boy taking me. I mean I wouldn't mind but I'm not as interested as the other girls."

"I'm not at all interested in a boy taking me, but I still don't want to go alone so that's a great idea." Henreesa smiled.

"It's a friendship-date then." Mazie grinned.

"You bet. Do you want to pick me up instead of me picking you up?" Henreesa said. "I mean my house is closer to the school than the farms are so it'd make more sense."

"Sure." Mazie nodded. "When?"

"After dinner."

"Okay."

The night of the dance, Mazie picked Henreesa up. Henreesa was wearing good jeans, instead of her usual old ones, and a nice button-down red shirt under her usual jacket. She also wasn't wearing her cap. When Henreesa opened the door she found herself blushing for some reason as her heart started to strangely pound a little.

"Mazie?" She was surprised.

Mazie was wearing a pretty sleeveless yellow dress with ruffles in the skirt. There was a green belt with a blue flower-shaped buckle over the skirt. She also was wearing a necklace with a blue bird-shaped pendant and green shoes. On her head was a crown made of yellow daisies.

"I kinda like some of the fashions people wear around here and have been wanting to try them myself." Mazie explained. "I figured the dance was a good reason to try one."

"It...yeah..." Henreesa snapped out of it. "Yeah you look really pretty."

"You don't look so bad either." Mazie chuckled.

Henreesa smirked back, and they headed for the dance.

Once there they decided to find Applelo and Madison first. Once they did they had a nice chat for quite some time before joining in the dances.

Time passed as Henreesa and Mazie danced, snacked, and chatted with friends. Henreesa was still trying to figure out why she had felt so weird when she saw Mazie at her door. I mean sure she had never seen Mazie wear anything other than her usual outfit before, but that didn't explain her blushing or her heart pounding slightly.

Mazie meanwhile was starting to feel her heart pounding a little as well whenever Henreesa was nearby. She couldn't figure out why though. Maybe it was because of all the dancing, but then again she didn't feel that tired. She couldn't think of another explanation either. She also couldn't stop thinking about how attractive Henreesa was.

Then, near the end of the dance, the slow dance begun. All romantic couples headed for the dance floor while the friendship couples and few singles stayed behind. Some guys started to head for Henreesa and Mazie.

"Oh cheese..." Henreesa muttered.

"Would one of you ladies like to dance with one of us?" One of the guys asked.

"No thanks." Henreesa tried to be polite.

"Honestly Henreesa, how are you going to find the one if you won't give any guy a chance?" Another guy asked.

"I'm not interested in guys at all, all right?" Henreesa glared, annoyed.

"You must prefer animals then huh?" A third guy sniggered.

"Leave her alone!" Mazie glared. "And it's guys like you that are keeping both of us from being interested in dating guys in general!"

The guys, embarrassed, left.

"Thanks." Henreesa smiled.

"What are friends for?" Mazie smiled back before sighing. "I wish all guys were more like Applelo or the guys our friends are dating. Or like you."

"Really?" Henreesa smiled at her.

"Yeah...I mean I wouldn't mind meeting a guy who loves animals as much as we do." Mazie blushed.

"Same here, if I was interested in boys." Henreesa agreed.

They continued talking while the slow dance continued playing...both feeling a strange urge to slow dance with each other.

A couple days later Henreesa was taking a walk through a forest. She then saw a raccoon with a familiar collar nearby.

"Hello Bribon." She smiled. "Would you like to walk with me?"

Bribon shook his head and headed over to where there were two female raccoons. Getting it, Henreesa stopped and watched. Sure enough Bribon started pulling stunts like swinging from branch to branch, as well as flirting in raccoon language to the two females. The two females ignored him at first, but then when he tried leaping from one branch to the other he missed and landed on their branch. Annoyed, the two females scolded him and drove him away. Bribon ran back to the ground and past Henreesa. Henreesa laughed.

"You obviously tried too hard." She chuckled.

Bribon stuck his tongue out at her and left. Henreesa continued her walk still chuckling.

Later on she saw two does nuzzling. A stag tried showing off for them but they ignored him, still nuzzling each other. Getting it, the stag left disappointedly.

Henreesa watched the does, thinking about how nice it would be to find someone like that. Someone she could love, who wouldn't try too hard to be with her. Someone she could just hang out with and- She suddenly froze.

" _Hold on, how come I never got that thought until now?_ " She thought. " _I mean I had seen a lot of couples before during the walk so what's different about this one? Well the previous couples were male and female and this couple is two females but-_ "

Her eyes widened. Could it be? She thought back to the night of the dance, how she felt around Mazie. She remembered that she had found Mazie very attractive, beautiful even, and that her heart would pound or beat fast around her.

"I'm in love with her." She realized. "That's why I had been feeling that way. No wonder I was never interested in guys before, I'm a lesbian." She smiled. "Always was confused about that... But what should I do? Mazie does have a slight interest in guys so she might be straight. I don't want to weird her out or anything."

She thought for a moment.

"I'll just keep it to myself until I can think of a way to find out Mazie's preference without weirding her out." She decided.

Meanwhile, Mazie was sitting by a lake in another part of Sugar Rush, also thinking to herself. How come she found Henreesa so attractive? I mean she still found boys kinda cute, but Henreesa...Henreesa was the one who kept making her heart skip a beat whenever she complimented her. Henreesa was the one who kept making her feel warm everytime she thought about her. And whenever she was near Henreesa her heart would pound or beat a little faster.

" _Wait...could I...could I be in love with her?_ " Mazie thought. " _Applelo did say that he knew he was in love with Madison because he felt it in his heart. But how can I be in love with Henreesa and still find boys cute at the same time? Unless...wait a moment, I heard something about this...liking both guys and girls... Oh yeah, people who do are known as bisexuals, or bis. Maybe I'm bi. But how can I know for sure? Wait...Applelo did introduce me to that device...a computer. Maybe I can find out on there._ "

She went to the Wescider's house and after getting on the internet and doing some research she realized that she really was bi. But how can she tell Henreesa? What if Henreesa wasn't bi or anything like that? I mean she wasn't interested in dating guys, but she could be just not interested in dating in general. Or she was just waiting for the right guy.

Mazie ended up spending many days worrying about it. Should she continue to love Henreesa and wait for the right moment to tell her her feelings, or should she forget about Henreesa and look for a guy to love?

No one really caught on to her internal conflict...except for Applelo. He had known her for so long that he now was able to tell when something was bothering her.

One day he visited Mazie's tribe. Some of the other Native Americans greeted him and he returned the greetings. He then went into her father's tent, which was open.

"Good mornin' Mr. Condotte, I was wonderin' where Mazie was." He said politely.

"I believe she's amongst the trees behind my tent." Mr. Condotte said. "That little pest of hers is giving her a hard time again."

"Thank you." Applelo bowed before leaving.

He walked through the trees a bit until he heard yelling. He followed the yelling and saw Mazie looking up a tree angrily.

"Bribon! You get down here right now!" Mazie scolded.

"Hey Mazie, Bribon at it again huh?" Applelo went over to her.

"Hi Applelo. Yeah but when isn't he?" Mazie frowned. "He ate my breakfast again this morning. Bribon you get down here before I turn you into a coonskin cap!"

Bribon scolded back and shook his fist at her.

"He obviously didn't like that threat." Applelo chuckled.

"Well I'm losing my patience with him..." Mazie muttered. "How does Henreesa keep Bosko so well behaved? Maybe I should ask her to help me train Bribon..."

"Or maybe goats are just better than raccoons." Applelo grinned.

A nut hit him on the hat. Applelo looked up and saw Bribon glaring at him.

"Nice try Bribon, but I have my hat on." Applelo smirked. "So Mazie, is anythin' wrong? Somethin' seems ah bit off about you."

Mazie bit her lip. She also had been scared about telling other people how she felt about Henreesa. Would they accept it? She was especially scared of telling her parents and Applelo, what if they didn't accept it? What if she lost her friendship with Applelo and her parents tried to force her to stick with guys?

"It's nothing, I'm fine." She half-lied.

"Mazie." Applelo frowned before looking concerned. "Come on, you know I know you better than that. Please if there's anythin' wrong I want to help."

Mazie hung her head. She knew Applelo well enough to know that he wasn't going to give up. Might as well get it over with.

"I...I'm in love with Henreesa." She admitted.

Applelo was caught off-guard, but once he recovered he just smiled.

"Well, I'll admit that I wasn't expectin' anythin' like that. You bein' in love with another girl I mean." He said. "But there's no reason to be nervous, just tell her how you feel."

Mazie looked at him surprised.

"You mean you don't mind that I'm bi?" She said.

"Not at all, you're still the same Mazie no matter who you date." Applelo smiled.

Mazie smiled with relief, and then sighed.

"I'm glad you're okay with this, but that's not what was troubling me." She said. "I can't decide whether I should tell Henreesa how I feel or give up on her and find a guy to love. I mean what if she isn't bi or anything like that?"

"Ah." Applelo got it. "Well I don't know what her preference is, apart from not wantin' to date guys at all of course, but I can say this: you should go with your feelin's instead of your fears. And I wouldn't worry too much, you two are so close that I can't imagine anythin' comin' between you two. Heck, not even Bribon can drive her away and that's sayin' somethin'."

Bribon scolded Applelo, and Applelo and Mazie both chuckled. Mazie then smiled.

"Thank you Applelo. I'd best tell her now before I lose my nerve." She said. "Besides, I don't think I'll be able to get Bribon to come down here anyway."

"Anytime. And yeah we'll take care of Bribon later." Applelo smiled. "Want me to go with you just in case?"

"I actually would like that." Mazie nodded.

They both left and headed for the Muginos' house. Once there Applelo knocked on the door because Mazie was wringing her hands nervously. She was still scared of Henreesa not being bi or anything like that, and was also worried that revealing her feelings might make things too awkward for them. Henreesa opened the door and beamed, especially upon seeing Mazie. She had been debating about visiting Mazie, wanting to be close to her again, but was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings well enough.

"Hey you two, always great to see ya." She smiled. "Come on in, I was just about to make lunch and I'd like the company... Mazie, is something wrong?"

She had just noticed Mazie's nervous look. Mazie's heart started pounding and she gulped.

"Not really but...Henry I, uh...have something to confess." She said.

"What is it?" Henreesa asked.

"I...I'm bi." Mazie admitted. "That is I like both guys and...and girls." She hung her head, blushing big time.

Henreesa stared at her. Her heart started to beat a little faster.

"Are you saying that you...you like me?" She asked.

Mazie nodded, still blushing. Her heart pounded harder.

"I like you too." Henreesa smiled.

Mazie looked up surprised. Her heart stopped pounding and her blush slowly started to go away. Her heart started to beat a little fast.

"So...you're bi too?" She asked.

"Nah, I'm a lesbian." Henreesa was still smiling. "Girls only for me."

Mazie smiled back, not believing her luck. She went closer to Henreesa and they hugged, both of them instantly feeling warm and complete from feeling each other's love. Their hearts started beating a little faster. Applelo just smiled at the scene, glad that things had worked out for his best friend and one of his newer friends.

"So...I guess this is when we're supposed to kiss..." Henreesa hesitated, going by what she saw in movies and TV shows.

"Well..." Mazie hesitated too. "I dunno I...I'm still kinda getting used to this..."

Since Mazie had slight crushes on guys before being in love with a girl was new for her, so it was going to take her a while to get used to it. Especially since she had never dated anyone before, and so wasn't sure how to act or what to do. Henreesa too had never dated before, but was a little more sure of herself because she didn't have the added conflict of whether she should be with guys or girls. In her case she was more than happy about being with someone who was right for her. Even so she understood Mazie's fears, and respected them.

"Okay, whenever you're ready." Henreesa smiled.

Mazie smiled back and they hugged a bit longer. They couldn't hug for long though, all three of them were hungry (especially Mazie). After making a few sandwiches the three of them ate and had a fun conversation. But by the end of the meal Mazie started to look worried.

"What's wrong?" Henreesa asked.

"I just remembered...we're going to have to tell our parents." Mazie said.

"Oh..." Henreesa looked a bit worried too. "That's right. Well luckily my dad's always been kinda open-minded...I'm terrified about telling my mom though. What about your parents?"

"Well they are very traditional, especially dad...but they can be open-minded as well." Mazie said. "So I'm not sure."

"I don't think they'll react too badly. They were okay about you being friends with me after all and they even became friends with my parents." Applelo smiled.

"True." Mazie had to agree. "Even so...Henreesa can we tell our parents really soon?"

"Uh...how soon?" Henreesa hesitated. "I mean I think we'd best hang out a little first...get used to dating and such...before we tell them."

"I know, but I don't want to worry about their reaction for a long time like I had worried about your reaction to my feelings for you." Mazie explained. "It wasn't a pleasant experience for me and I'd rather not go through that again."

"Ah...well...okay." Henreesa gave in. "I don't want you to suffer that again either."

"I'll go wit' you guys too." Applelo added. "I'm perfectly okay wit' this so maybe I can help your parents accept this too."

Henreesa and Mazie thanked him, and then the three of them left to gather Beard Papa and Mazie's parents. As they left they talked about where to tell their parents, and decided to tell them inside the Kart Bakery. This was because if they told them anywhere else then Henreesa would end up arguing with her dad about leaving his post. As for Mazie's parents...well while they might be uncomfortable about being in a factory they wouldn't argue with Mazie about it if the matter was important.

So Mazie and Applelo went to get her parents and lead them to the factory while Henreesa went to her dad and took him inside the factory. Then when everyone was settled...

"Okay, Henry and I gathered you all here because we have a big announcement and we wanted you to know as soon as possible." Mazie said.

"What is it?" Beard Papa asked.

Henreesa took a deep breath. Even though she was more sure of the relationship than Mazie was she was just as scared as Mazie about telling their parents.

"Mazie and I...are dating." Henreesa admitted.

Their parents' eyes widened. It took a moment for them to get what Henreesa was saying and when they did they weren't sure how to react.

"Hold on, you mean you two are gay?" Mrs. Candotte said.

"Well actually I'm bi...but otherwise yeah." Mazie nodded, blushing a little.

There was a long awkward pause, especially since Mr. and Mrs. Candotte looked disapproving. Mazie looked down, worried, and started to wring her hands again. Henreesa noticed and gently put her hand on Mazie's hands to comfort her. Finally Applelo frowned.

"Look, I know this is unexpected and everythin' but are you three forgettin' that they're still the same Henry and Mazie?" He said sternly. "So what if they're in love with each other? As for me I'm just glad Mazie found love even if her love isn't ah guy, and I happen to believe that Henry is ah good person for her. Lesbian, bi, straight, it doesn't matter. As long as they're still themselves, as long as they're good people and care about animals, then I'm okay with this. And they are still good people and still care about animals so you three should be okay with this too."

Mr. and Mrs. Candotte looked away, apparently feeling a bit ashamed. Beard Papa however smiled.

"He is right. While I didn't expect this to happen I am glad my little Henry finally found someone to love, especially since I was starting to think that she would end up alone." He said. "I do just want her to be happy."

Henreesa rolled her eyes even though she couldn't help but smile at that. Mrs. Candotte looked at Beard Papa and sighed.

"I have to admit that you and Applelo have made some good points." She agreed. "Even though I am traditional about a lot of things and think that girls should end up with guys and not each other... Well, if Henry really makes you happy Mazie, and if you two really do love each other, then that's all that matters."

Henreesa, Mazie, and Applelo were really relieved at first but then glanced nervously at Mr. Candotte. He hadn't said anything, and also still looked a bit disapproving.

"Dear!" Mrs. Candotte hissed, jabbing her husband.

"Okay okay!" Mr. Candotte whispered back, annoyed; he then cleared his throat. "While I'm normally not be okay with this sort of thing...I too just want Mazie to be happy. So if you two really do love each other and continue to be good people then I'll allow it. Besides, I do know you'll be good to my daughter Henry, you have been a good friend to her in the past after all."

"You can count on me." Henreesa smiled, completely relieved.

Mazie and Applelo were really relieved too and smiled gratefully at Beard Papa and Mr. and Mrs. Candotte.

"Hm, I guess if Henry is dating our daughter then we'll have to think about making her part of the tribe..." Mr. Candotte then said to himself.

"Dear, you know this is the 21st century...and that Henry and our daughter are pretty much stuck in their preteen forms." Mrs. Candotte said sternly.

"Yeah well...I mean..." Mr. Candotte muttered.

"What is he talking about?" Beard Papa asked.

"Uh...yeah I never mentioned this...dad's the chief of our tribe." Mazie admitted.

Henreesa and Beard Papa stared at her.

"I didn't want to be viewed as a princess so I kept it a secret." Mazie shrugged.

"So that's why your dad was always so busy in the past." Henreesa realized.

"Yeah." Mazie nodded a bit awkwardly.

"This means you're next in line to lead the tribe." Henreesa noted. "So wait, he was talking about-" Henreesa blushed. "Oh. That."

"Yup." Mazie was feeling really awkward now.

"Uh...oh, we should think about how to let the rest of the kingdom...country...know." Applelo said, knowing Mazie wanted the subject changed. "Cheese, ah kingdom with ah president instead of ah princess can make it hard to remember certain things..." He then muttered to himself.

"Oh...that's right." Mazie widened her eyes. "Oh man...I hope they take it well. Especially President Vanellope, I mean I know she wouldn't be cruel about it or anything..."

"It's okay, Applelo and our parents are on our side." Henreesa comforted her. "Besides, we're in this together so we can support each other no matter how the others react. Also I wouldn't worry about Vanellope, she won't do anything to us even if she doesn't approve. But I'm sure she'll approve, you see she had been an outcast before."

"Really?" Mazie was surprised. "How?"

Henreesa told Applelo, Mazie, and Mazie's parents the story of Turbo and how he took over Sugar Rush. She then continued with Ralph, Felix, and Tamora arriving and how they ended up exposing Turbo's lies. She even included how Candiel had been returned to Vanellope, and how Vanellope and Ralph had ended up together.

"So you see, Vanellope is one of the last people who would ever think poorly of someone just for being different." Henreesa finished. "She would never let someone else be treated the way she used to be treated."

Applelo, Mazie, and her parents were stunned by the story. Mazie then relaxed about Vanellope finding out, though still worried a bit about everyone else finding out.

It turns out she didn't have to. While she and Henreesa hadn't come right out and told everyone that they were dating or anything the Racers and other citizens did slowly start to catch on. This was because Mazie and Henreesa acted like a couple whenever they were out, and sometimes even double-dated with Applelo and Madison. Madison, by the way, took it well.

Anyway, as the Racers and other citizens started to catch on one awkwardly asked if Henreesa and Mazie were dating. They confirmed it, and the citizen actually took it well. Word spread round and everyone else started to take it well too, even though they were surprised at first. Henreesa and Mazie weren't sure if it was because everyone really did accept their relationship or if they were just trying to avoid angering Vanellope, but either way they were relieved. Same with Applelo.

In fact the only ones who didn't take it well were the guys who had tried to ask Henreesa out in the past. All of them cornered Henreesa in town one day:

"Come on Henreesa, why won't you go out with one of us?" One of those guys asked.

"I dunno...maybe because I'm already dating Mazie." Henreesa smirked.

"What?" Another guy gasped as the rest of the guys dropped their mouths open.

"Yeah, turns out I'm a lesbian. Really does explain why I was never interested in guys before doesn't it?" Henreesa grinned. "Well, toodles." She left.

All the guys acted as if they were heartbroken, revealing that they all had a crush on her. So their lack of acceptance had more to do with disappointment, plus jealousy towards Mazie, than anything else. However nothing bad came of this since they didn't want to risk angering Vanellope. So instead of trying to make Henreesa straight or sabotaging her relationship with Mazie they just glared at Henreesa and Mazie for a while.

This did make Mazie uncomfortable at first until Henreesa explained to her why they were glaring at them. After that Mazie felt a lot better and actually felt kinda good that she had made the guys jealous of her. She knew she was very lucky to have won Henreesa's heart and the glares from the 'losers' made her really feel like a winner. She didn't flaunt this however because she didn't really like being the center of attention. Instead she just kept her enjoyment to herself, not even admitting it to Bribon. Of course eventually the guys got over it and stopped glaring at them, after all their feelings for Henreesa had just been a mere crush. Mazie was actually relieved when the glares were done with since she didn't like being in the spotlight for a very long time.

Vanellope on the other hand was of course among the ones who took it best. She was very happy for Henreesa and Mazie, not caring if they were the same gender or not as long as they really loved each other. Ralph took it well too, also knowing what it was like to be an outcast just for being different. Reneult took it well also, same with Candiel and Sour Bill. Felix and Tamora later took it well too when they found out. In fact Tamora took it well almost better than Vanellope and Ralph...which kinda surprised everyone.

"You really are okay with this?" Ralph asked.

"Okay? I'm used to it." Tamora shrugged. "I've seen more than my fair share of gays in the military."

"Oh." Everyone who was there said.

As time passed Henreesa and Mazie grew more comfortable about their relationship, though the other citizens, along with Ralph and Felix, were a bit awkward around them at first. Taffyta later explained to Henreesa and Mazie that everyone didn't know how to act around them and didn't want to risk saying or doing anything offensive. After hearing that Henreesa and Mazie went to Vanellope and told her to let everyone know that all the citizens had to do was to treat them the same way they always treated them. And if anyone ever saw them out and about as a couple then they were just to treat them the same way they'd treat any couple. Vanellope did, and passed the message along to Ralph and Felix as well.


	23. Frustrations and True Love

There was still one detail though: Henreesa's mom.

"Say Henry, are you going to tell your mother about...you know?" Beard Papa asked one evening during dinner. "It has been a few weeks since you and Mazie told me and her parents."

"I dunno dad, mom didn't take you working long hours well so I don't think she'll take my being a lesbian well either." Henreesa frowned, picking at her food.

"I know, but she still visits you sometimes and I think it would be better if she heard it directly from you rather than just finding out during her next visit." Beard Papa said gently. "Plus telling her now would mean telling her through the computer or phone, which might be easier to deal with."

"That's true...I think, when I'm ready, I'll tell her through the computer." Henreesa decided. "That way I can also avoid her yelling at me."

"That's a good idea." Beard Papa nodded.

After a couple of days later Henreesa got an e-mail from her mom, saying that she was planning to visit soon. Henreesa decided that it was time to tell her, that way if her mom did get mad then at least she would have time to let out most of her anger before the visit.

'I would like to see you again mom, but there's something I have to tell you.' She wrote.

'What's that dear?' Her mom wrote back.

'I' Henreesa hesitated, worried about her mom's reaction, but decided to get it over with. 'I'm a lesbian. That is I prefer dating girls instead of guys.'

There was a long pause as she nervously waited for the response.

'You're joking right? I mean I know you're not into guys yet but that doesn't mean you're a lesbian. You could just be waiting for a mature guy and I don't blame you for that.'

Henreesa frowned. She should've known.

'No I am not joking and for your information I never found a guy attractive in my entire life. I also happen to know a lot of mature guys and I have no interest in them at all.' She wrote back.

'Now dear you're probably just confused.' Her mom wrote. 'Just take some time to think it over and you'll see I'm right.'

'It's always that isn't it? It's always just about you wanting to be right instead accepting things as the way they are.' Henreesa frowned as she typed. 'I am not confused, I actually happen to be in love with a wonderful girl who loves me back.'

'So that's it. She's corrupted you into thinking that you're a lesbian.'

'She did not! In fact we realized our feelings for each other at the same time! She was even unsure at first because she was scared about me loving her back!'

'Don't you take that tone with me young lady.'

'Mom, I'm writing not talking. What tone?'

'I can tell what tone you're thinking. Look, I happen to know some really nice guys so I'll bring one with me for you to date.'

'No. I already found the one for me and I'm not going to leave her for anyone.'

'Henreesa girls are supposed to date guys not other girls, it's just not right.'

'I keep telling you to call me Henry. And it feels right, but you not accepting this doesn't feel right. You're my mom, you're supposed to love me and accept me no matter what. And if you can't then...then just forget about coming over. I don't want you to meet my girlfriend until you can accept me anyway.'

'Henry is a boy's name not a girl's name. And fine! If you want to be a jerk to your mother then I won't visit after all!

'YOU'RE BEING THE JERK!' Henreesa lost her temper and wrote without thinking; she also hit 'send' before she could change her mind.

She got a response, but she just deleted it. She knew it was just going to hurt her more anyway. She sat there numb, wishing she hadn't told her mom yet at the same time glad she did. She knew things would've gotten ugly between her, her mom, and Mazie if her mom had visited and found out during the next visit.

Tears came to her eyes, and she started to cry. Her dad heard her and rushed upstairs.

"Henry!" He went over to her and hugged her. "Oh honey...you told your mom didn't you?"

"Yeah, through an e-mail." Henreesa sobbed. "Makes me glad I didn't call her or tell her in person."

"Same here...I'm so sorry Henry, but your mom always had been that way. Actually it was one of the reasons why we kept arguing so much in the past and later divorced." Beard Papa said. "At least you know that I accept you and still love you. And I'm sure your mom loves you too, she just doesn't know that she's showing it the wrong way."

"I'll say..." Henreesa sobbed bitterly.

The doorbell rang.

"Oh...that would be Mazie. We have another date tonight." She said. "Papa, can you ask her if she wouldn't mind having our date here? I don't feel like going out."

"Sure thing, and how about I make you your favorite dinner?" Beard Papa smiled.

"I'd love that." Henreesa smiled.

A few minutes later Mazie was at her bedroom doorway.

"Your dad told me...I'm so sorry your mom didn't accept you being a lesbian." She said sympathetically. "Also I don't mind having our date here instead."

"I'm sorry too...and thank you." Henreesa felt a little better upon seeing Mazie.

"Of course." Mazie went over and hugged her. "No matter what I'll always be here for you."

"I'll always be here for you too." Henreesa returned the hug.

They had dinner with Beard Papa, and Henreesa slowly started to feel better. She was still hurting about her mom not accepting her, but had decided to let it go. After all there was nothing her mom could do anyway, especially since she had decided not to visit after all. Before Mazie left she kissed Henreesa on the cheek to help her feel better. It worked.

Henreesa decided to not let her mom not accepting her get her down. If her mom couldn't accept her being a lesbian, then that was her mom's problem. And it wasn't like she had to live with her mom anyway. Besides, she had a dad and lots of friends who accepted her.

After that, things started to become as comfortable for Henreesa and Mazie as they were for any other couple. Mazie stopped being shy about her relationship with Henreesa, instead deciding to just concentrate on her newfound love for her. This gradually led to this moment...

They were taking one of their usual romantic walks through the forest, enjoying being amongst animals as much in love as them.

"I'm glad we both found someone we could love." Henreesa smiled. "I admit, even though I was never interested in boys I had thought about finding someone to love."

"I did get a few crushes on boys myself, but nothing like what I feel for you." Mazie smiled at Henreesa; she then felt an urge. "In fact...I was starting to think that maybe we're...we're even true loves."

"You mean...like the other couples we know?" Henreesa turned to Mazie.

"Yeah...but there's only one way to find out for sure." Mazie blushed a little.

Henreesa blushed too, but also smiled.

"You're ready?" She guessed.

Mazie nodded, still blushing but smiling as well.

They both stopped walking, and faced to each other. They gazed at each other, letting their love guide them.

"I'm glad you are May..." Henreesa sighed. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"I was looking forward to it too..." Mazie agreed.

They wrapped their arms around each other as they leaned in closer. Henreesa gently brought her hand to Mazie's cheek as Mazie slowly moved a hand up Henreesa's arm. They both then gently moved their faces until...they kissed. They were a little caught off-guard by the amount of love they felt, but quickly recovered and relaxed into the kiss. 8-bit hearts surrounded them as their hearts beat faster.

When they ended the kiss they just continued gazing at each other for a while, grinning with joy and love.

Obviously, their friends and family were very happy for them upon being told later on that Henreesa and Mazie were true loves.


	24. Pony Problem

Now during all this, new foals had been born on the Westcider Farm. All the Sugar Rushians visited the farm now and then to see the new foals. However most, especially the Racers, knew that they couldn't have any of the foals so they made sure not to get too attached to a single one.

Vanellope, Ralph, and Reneult especially visited the farm. Ralph wasn't much of a pet person, mostly because he had been scared in the past of accidentally hurting one with his strength. This fear went away after he realized how gentle he automatically was with Vanellope, but by that point his interest in having a pet was gone. However, if Vanellope and Reneult wanted a horse, and if Candiel had recovered enough to let one back into the palace, then he wouldn't mind. He did like horses, especially how they could be gentle with their muzzles even though most of them were very strong. He related to them that way, and also through their loyalty to those they cared about.

Vanellope and Reneult had especially started to bond with one in particular. A malt-colored cremello filly who the Westciders hadn't named yet. Normally they were good at picking out names, but there was something about this one that made it hard. Maybe it was because that the filly seemed to have two personalities. One was the typical gentle nature that all the other mares had, along with an empathetic side. Whenever someone seemed to feel bad the filly would go over to him or her and let that person pet her. The other personality was playful and a bit teasing as well. Sometimes the filly would snatch Applelo's hat off his head and run off with it, and would do the same thing to other citizens' belongings. She also liked to join in games like hide'n'seek, and seemed to have a fondness for toilet humor. Vanellope still made 'doodie' jokes now and then, and whenever she did near the filly her whinny would resemble laughing.

As Ralph got to know the filly he too started to bond with her. Especially since most of the new foals were shy and wary of him, but this particular filly actually enjoyed his company. She enjoyed Vanellope and Reneult's company more, but still liked to be close to Ralph sometimes too. She even let Ralph pet her now and then, and sometimes she would nuzzle him.

Later on Candiel had heard so much about the filly from his family that he decided to see her for himself. So when Vanellope, Ralph, and Reneult played with the filly he watched from afar. He couldn't help but smile upon seeing them so happy together. Seeing Vanellope so happy especially warmed his heart. Unfortunately, he couldn't get closer to the farm. Even seeing horses gave him a stabbing pain in his heart. Meaning he couldn't buy the filly for his family...even though he wanted to so badly. He still felt bad for depriving Vanellope of getting the pet she'd been wanting for over a year... He just didn't know what to do.

One day he went to the horse farm alone, while still staying far away, and watched the horses romp about. The cremello filly his family loved wasn't in sight, but he stayed there hoping she would show up.

"Oh Maltina..." He sighed as he sat on a hill. "I still miss you so much...it feels like a part of my heart is missing. And because of that it's almost impossible to be near horses...even seeing them only reminds me of the wonderful times we had together...and can't have again. I wish something could help me...Vanellope loves horses almost as much as you do, and Ralph and Reneult have grown fond of them as well. Vanellope deserves a pet, especially a pet she wants so much...but if I can't even get near a horse then how can I buy one and take it back to the castle? How can I continue with my life with a horse living nearby and causing me further pain?"

He then heard a soft nicker. Startled he turned around and saw the cremello filly near him. The pain in his heart increased.

"What are you doing here?" Candiel asked, trying to ignore his pain. "You should be with your mother and the other horses."

The filly just walked closer to him.

"No...I'm sorry but...my wife loved horses and when she died I found it impossible to be near them...I still do..." Candiel shed a few tears. "Please...just go home before your mother starts to worry."

To his surprise, the filly actually shook her head. That's when Candiel remembered Vanellope, Ralph, and Reneult talking about her empathetic side.

"I know you want to make me feel better...but I don't think this'll work." He said sadly.

The filly just lowered her muzzle so that it was touching his chest right where his heart was located. Candiel started to feel as if his heart was going to break. He looked up, ready to try to gently get the filly to leave...when he looked into her eyes. They were a pale green, and for some strange reason they seemed familiar. Candiel couldn't stop himself from petting her, and as he did his sadness started to increase...until he ended up crying. The filly moved so that he could cry onto her, and as he cried Candiel found his pain starting to decrease. Eventually his pain went away almost completely and he was able to calm down.

"Thank you...that actually did help me." He sniffled a bit as he wiped his eyes; he then got up. "How did you know it would?"

The filly, for some reason, looked at him sadly. She then buried her muzzle into his chest. Candiel oddly felt some sort of connection to the filly, and couldn't figure out why. He looked down at her and to his concern saw that she now was shedding tears. She was crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

The filly looked up at him and whinnied almost desperately.

"I wish I could speak horse..." Candiel said regretfully. "Then I could help you."

The filly just looked even sadder. Candiel hugged her until she started to feel better, and then smiled.

"There...I guess we both helped each other." He said. "And it's time to do what I should have done over a year ago..."

The next day, Ralph, Vanellope, and Reneult were walking to the farm to see the filly again.

"I so wish I could buy her...but I couldn't bear to put dad through that much pain." Vanellope sighed.

"Yeah, I'd hate to see grandpa in pain too." Reneult agreed.

"It's okay Vanellope, someday Candiel will recover and when that time comes he'll definitely let you have a horse." Ralph put a hand around her comfortingly. "Who knows, he might even surprise you with one."

"But...but I want the filly we've bonded with." Vanellope said sadly. "I don't know why but...but I feel as if we belong together. As if there's a special connection between us..."

"I've felt it too." Reneult nodded.

"I have felt something too, but I don't think it's as strong as what you two have." Ralph admitted.

Then as they neared the farm, they saw the filly...who had a gold collar around her neck. Vanellope felt tears coming to her eyes and she ran off in the opposite direction.

"Vanellope-!" Ralph called after her.

Too late, Vanellope glitched away.

"Aw man, someone already bought her." Reneult sighed disappointedly.

"Come on son, maybe we can buy her from her new owner." Ralph said. "Let's go talk to the Westciders about it."

They did, they headed for the orchard where they found Mr. Westcider.

"Well hello, what can I do for...where's President Vanellope?" Mr. Westcider asked, looking around. "Had business to attend to?"

"No, she saw the collar on her favorite filly and glitched away upset." Ralph said. "Can you give us the contact info for whoever bought the filly? We'd like to buy her from her new owner no matter the cost."

"Oh...well you don't have to worry about that." Mr. Westcider smiled knowingly.

"What do you mean?" Reneult asked.

"If you saw the collar properly you would have noticed that it was ah gold one." Mr. Westcider continued smiling. "Not everyone can afford those..."

"So...only those of nobility or royalty can buy them?" Ralph guessed.

"Exactly." Mr. Westcider just continued smiling.

That info, combined with Mr. Westcider's knowing smile, made Ralph start to smile.

"No way...you're not saying that...?" He said.

Mr. Westcider nodded.

"What is it dad?" Reneult asked.

"Candiel bought the filly." Ralph said excitedly, trying to contain his joy so that he wouldn't accidentally harm any of the trees.

"What?" Reneult gasped happily. "We've got to tell mom!"

"Right." Ralph agreed; he and Reneult started to leave. "Thank you Mr. Westcider!" Ralph called back.

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Reneult agreed.

"You're both welcome!" Mr. Westcider called back.

Ralph and Reneult headed back to the castle, but Vanellope wasn't there at all. Candiel was however.

"Where's Sugar Cookie? I have something to tell her." He said.

"You bought the filly she loves right?" Reneult grinned.

"Ah so you two know, does Vanellope?" Candiel smiled.

"No, she teleported away sadly upon seeing the collar on the filly." Ralph explained.

"Oh dear..." Candiel said concernedly. "Where could she be?"

"Probably somewhere where she'd want to be alone...and I know exactly where that place is."

Ralph led Candiel and Reneult to Diet Cola Mountain.

"I've never been here before." Reneult said.

"Same here." Candiel agreed. "Not since Turbo took over anyway. This used to be a hiding place for royalty back when we used to have wars with other kingdoms."

"And it became Vanellope's home after Turbo took over." Ralph added. "Most of it got destroyed when I caused that diet cola beacon though...doubt much of it was restored in the reset."

"So...how do we get in?" Reneult asked.

"This way."

Ralph led them over to the two lollipops that made an archway and walked through the wall under them. Reneult and Candiel followed, though Reneult was a bit caught off-guard at first.

Once all three were inside they heard crying nearby. Ralph, remembering where Vanellope's bed used to be, walked towards that area...to find another bed there, only larger. And one it was Vanellope bundled up in a larger version of the candy wrapper blanket she used to own.

"Van?" Ralph said, both surprised and concerned.

Startled, Vanellope stopped crying and turned over and saw her family there. She wiped an eye.

"Should've known you'd think to look here Stinkbrain." She couldn't help but smirk.

"You restored your bed and blanket here didn't you?" Ralph realized.

"Yeah, a long time ago." Vanellope sat up. "I decided to make this place my alone-home, for whenever I would want to be alone. Since the three of you know however..."

"No, we'll keep it a secret. And we'll only visit you here if there's an emergency or something." Ralph shook his head.

"Okay...so are you three here to comfort me?"

"No, we found out who bought the filly you love mom." Reneult smiled.

"Who?"

"Me." Candiel admitted.

Vanellope dropped her mouth open and her eyes widened.

"What?" She said. "But...I thought..."

"So did I, but the filly came up to me yesterday and let me cry on her." Candiel explained. "As I cried...the pain started to go away. And it's almost completely gone. Not entirely because I still miss your mother so much, but I can at least be near horses now."

Vanellope beamed and went over to her father to hug him.

"We can't have her yet of course." Candiel returned the hug. "She still needs to be with her mother, but once she's old enough to be sold then she'll be able to move in with us."

"It's okay...and it does give us plenty of time to get the old stables ready." Vanellope smiled.

"True."

So, that's what Vanellope and her family did as soon as they got home. They fixed up and cleaned the old stables, and placed a order for supplies they would need. As they cleaned the old stables...

"Hey, what's in here?" Reneult asked after finding a huge box made out of a jawbreaker.

"Something special, something I should've given Vanellope a long time ago." Candiel said.

Reneult opened the box after his parents and grandpa came over, and discovered an old royal saddle. The saddle almost looked like new, and contained the initials MVS.

"This was your mother's old saddle Vanellope." Candiel said. "She bought it not long after we were married. She did have some old saddles back where she grew up but wanted a new one with her new name on it."

"She really did love you huh?" Vanellope traced the initials on the saddle.

"Yes...and I still love her..." Candiel sighed as memories went through his head. "I still wish she hadn't died...but I'm also grateful for the time we had together. And that we had you. I wouldn't trade you for her even if I was given the chance."

Time passed and summer came. The cremello filly became old enough to leave her mom, and was so happy to be with Vanellope and her family. Vanellope, Candiel and Reneult especially bonded further with her. They named her Maltessa because of her coat. Plus 'tessa' was kinda close to the word 'tease', which Maltessa liked to playfully do.


	25. Fourth of July

Around the same time Fourth of July came around. Vanellope decided to host a cookout that day, complete with fireworks. The morning of that day everyone got dressed up in their best red, white, and/or blue outfits.

When Henreesa entered Mazie's tribe she soon found out that Mazie wasn't ready yet. She actually was at the Applelo farm still getting ready. Henreesa went over to the farm and after greeting Applelo and his parents went inside to look for Mazie.

"Mazie? You here?" She said.

"Yeah, I'm in the bathroom just finishing up." Mazie's voice said through one door. "Sheesh, I know dad's still a traditionalist but I wish he'd at least let me get a mirror or something."

A few minutes passed.

"Will you hurry up already Maze?" Henreesa chuckled. "At this rate the cookout will have already started by the time you're done."

"Oh Henry, I'm just trying to look my best for you." Mazie teased back.

"You know I hate that..." Henreesa muttered.

"How about this?" Mazie grinned as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Henreesa felt her heart speed up. Mazie was wearing a sleeveless short red dress that showed off her curves. A white headband with a fake blue flower was on her head, and she also was wearing white sneakers. Mazie also was wearing a little make-up, which she also had gotten interested in trying recently. She was wearing red lip gloss and light blue eyeshadow.

"Wow...all that just for the Fourth of July?" Henreesa blushed a little. "I'd love to see what you're planning on wearing for more special occasions."

"I didn't dress up like this for the Fourth of July silly, I dressed up like this for you." Mazie smiled. "Every special occasion - holidays, parties, birthdays, you name it - I'll dress up for you. And speaking of dressed up you look dashing."

Henreesa smiled, mostly because she hadn't dressed up at all. She was just wearing her good jeans with a red t-shirt. It still felt good to know that Mazie would think of her as good-looking no matter what she wore though.

Mazie then went closer to Henreesa and kissed her.

"Oh May..." Henreesa sighed after this kiss; she then chuckled. "Speaking of fireworks..." She put her hand over her heart.

"I know, I love you so much too." Mazie smiled.

They hugged.

"Come on Zee, let's have a small lunch before the cookout tonight." Henreesa smiled. "I'm a little hungry but still want to save room for those burgers and hot dogs later."

"I'm kinda hungry too." Mazie agreed.

So, they went out for a small lunch.

Later that evening, everyone had fun at the cookout. The fireworks were spectacular too, there was even one that formed the initials SR.

Vanellope watched everyone happily, glad that all the Racers and even a few other citizens found true love. However the story doesn't end here. Nope, there's plenty more to come.


End file.
